Another Life
by FanficFridays
Summary: The most minor changes to history can have massive ramifications. In a world without the Great War, where Faunus are still second class citizens, Velvet Scarlatina struggles to find her place in the world.
1. The Velveteen Rabbit

_90 years After the Great Peace (AGP)_

Vale had servants, not slaves. The Valean nobility were all to happy to point out that the backward practice of human ownership had been abolished in their homeland for centuries, and was a barbarity typical of other Kingdoms, not their own.

Of course, servants worked long, grueling hours for middling pay at best, but for Human workers it was a decent living and for Faunus it was as close to a fair wage as they could hope for. There were few other opportunities in a place like Vale for those at the bottom rung of the Kingdom and plenty of people in the slums who held nothing but contempt for those who licked their master's boots but who would be all too willing to take their place should a little lien be waved their way. That was incentive enough for most to bite their tongue and roll with the punches should their masters extend their working hours, delay their pay or occasionally forget the dividing line between peon and property.

As far as masters went, House Arc was a fine a choice as any. Descended from a long line of powerful warriors, the Arcs had been an integral part of the Kingdom's defense for hundreds of years, with all the power and wealth that came with that. Over the years their golden crest had maintained its luster, and the rents from their various holdings offered them a comfortable sort of wealth, the kind that barely grows but rarely falters. In a world where stagnation had become the norm, it was a comfortable place to be; might as well stagnant at the top.

Scurrying between the tapestries and portraits, the armor and regalia, was a small battalion of dozens of maids, cooks, artisans, gardeners, clerks and underlings who kept the Arc residence spick and span. Radian Hall was designed to be the family estate in Vale proper, an enduring sign of their political prominence to anyone uppity enough to challenge them, and since the ever ambitious Mason Arc had made the house their near exclusive residence, the nexus of his power brokering amongst the upper echelons of the Kingdom, it had to remain flawless and gleaming at all times.

Which was only half the reason Velvet had spent her entire day scrubbing every surface of the East Wing single handedly. The other reason was that the new matron was a bitter old slave driver desperate to prove she deserved her job. Her predecessor had felt neglected in her marriage and had been foolish enough to make a pass at the Lord of the house while the Lady was in earshot. Needless to say she had been disgraced and ejected from the home within the hour, and after a brief period of chaos, Lady Arc had found a more temperate, less comely replacement. Said replacement had made it her sworn mission to 'clean up the staff', which meant pushing everyone to the edge of their sanity and ejecting anyone young and pretty enough to cause future problems.

She really needn't have bothered, and her crusade would have proved far more fruitful in almost any other house in Vale. Philandering between Lords and their servants was a scandal so common that it barely warranted notice, and in most quarters it was taken as a given. In the more conservative dress rooms there may have been some tut-tutting whenever a maid servant would disappear after a few months with a swelling stomach and a peculiar sickness, but such gossip was quickly forgotten. In the most brazen of households it was tacitly accepted that a handful of the servants were to be hired for that expressed purpose, given some sinecure and a generous severance package whenever their beauty began to fade or the bastards became too politically inconvenient. House Winchester had dismissed three maids alone in the last few months, although which man of the House had done the deed was a question of deep interest to many of the less scrupulous members of the servant class.

House Arc, by contrast, was practically a paragon of virtue. Mason was a shameless flirt but devoted foremost to his family and second to power. He was quite faithful to his wife Isabelle, and rather satisfied with her if the eight children they had were anything to go by. Lady Arc had dismissed their last matron on the principle of the matter rather than any real suspicion of her husband, and considering that seven of the couples eight children were girls it was no surprise that the family had avoided a major sex scandal for the past few generations.

Never the less, Matron Beige had her mission and she would see it through until the end. After one dismissal and one indignant resignation she had turned her attention to Velvet. Velvet was far from vain, and rather plain by her own estimate, but she was also in her late teens and unattached and thus despite her status as less than human she was enough of a threat to warrant the attention of the matron. For weeks on end she had been kept being assigned tasks that took two or three people on a sane day and had been worked to the bone. At the best the matron hoped to either drive her to quit or degrade her quality of work to the point where she could be fired. At the least she kept a potentially troublesome wench too busy to cause any real damage.

Velvet's eyes watered from exhaustion, frustration and the blinding white sheen of the walls and floors of the building she had scrubbed raw, and it took all of her self control not to crumple into a ball as she made her way to the end of the hall way. She was surrounded by relics of the noble House Arc, spacious halls filling the edges of her vision and creeping in along with memories. She had seen these tributes so many times she could reliably measure her progress by them, each name going a bit further back in time as she neared the window near the East Garden. On the left of the corridor was a portrait of each patriarch, and on the right was a painting of their crowning achievement ' The Audacity of Silver... The Redemption of Roland... almost done...' she thought desperately.

" _Lord Arc will rein her in sooner or later."_ Violet, another of the young servant girls had told her, attempting to commiserate in the break room. " _He has to realize how having eye candy around softens up some of those old coots he has to suck up too, and he's the kind of man who'll play every card he has._ " The girl was probably right, but it was cold comfort that her torture would end was because a councilman may want to leer at her in the future.

Velvet collapsed at the end of the now immaculate hallway, next to the eldest painting of them all. Velvet had been enamored with the various paintings that littered the estate ever since she could remember, with their grandeur and glory and the stunning detail placed into recreating a defining picture of each Arc's history. She could get lost in them for hours, stolen glances into a world forever beyond her grasp. But the eldest work in the collection was different, just as visceral but far less pleasant. Looking at it always made her emotional and in her current state the sight of it would bring her to tears, so she assiduously averted her gaze. ' Arc I and the Subjugation of Faunus.'

Some 400 years prior, a hero had emerged from the common people of Vale and routed the coalition of animalistic tribes that had been nipping at the heels of the young Kingdom, luring them into battle and crushing them at the Battle of Aurora Creek. For this service, the that no other warrior could hope to accomplish , the Kingdom elevated him to the highest echelon of its nascent aristocracy, and all his descendants would bear his name.

The painting showed a triumphant Valean force collecting the weapons of a weary band of Faunus. The shining armor and vibrant green fabric of the conquering knights was contrasted with the torn and battered bodies of figures who were almost human, but not quite. Their traits varied, from a tail to an extra set of ears to horns, but every Faunus in the picture had the same broken spirit, the same slumped shoulders, and the same resigned face as they traded their spears for plows.

Arc's conquest of the Faunus was two fold. He had been bold and cunning enough to defeat them, and merciful enough to offer them a choice. Surrender and become serfs in his new fief, or be scattered into the wilderness where the hungry maws of the Grimm awaited them. Would they have made the same choice, she wondered, if they realized just how enduring their servitude would be? The dirty looks, the self loathing, the second class treatment by those willing to deal with them at all, and the soul crushing, tireless work, every single day for four centuries and counting. Or would they be won over by the sad fact that even this was generous compared to the treatment their cousins faced in other lands, more or less openly reduced to slaves?

Velvet's top ears brushed against the wall as she sighed, two long, brown rabbit like appendages that let her hear all the hateful whispers she could ever want, the single, indelible mark of her inhumanity. She was tired. So, so tired.

She looked out the window to see the freshly risen moon. She had spent all day making the East Wing immaculate, well after her shift was set to end.

Her eyes drifted to the painting on the other end of the wall. Rather than a frontal portrait of Arc I, it was a scene from behind depicting a blond swordsman staring off into the night, anonymous saved for two grooves carved into his shield by blade and fang that would become the Arc family crest. Facing off against a horde of Grimm of all shapes and sizes, a faceless example of what was expected of all who dared to call themselves Arc. Beneath the portrait was a simple inscription. **Lux Aeterna Tenebris Secat**. 'Light cuts through eternal darkness.'

The twin arcs on her uniform felt heavier than usual. Anyone who wore that mark was expected to keep fighting, no matter the struggle and no matter the odds. This was nothing. The faunus girl rose to her feet, resolve steeled and sorrow forgotten. Her ancestors had been in the fold for as long as there had been a House Arc. It would take more than some petty old harpy to force her out.

Velvet Scarlatina had been born into the Arc family just as much as the master's children, although she had a different role to fill. Her mother had clawed her way from the Faunus ghetto on the edge of the estate into a life in the family's service; her daughter had inherited the role. The corridors of Radian Hall were both foreign and familiar to her, ever present but never quite hers.

Velvet had almost nothing that was her own for as long as she had been alive. She had been conceived so her mother could become a wet nurse for the growing Arc brood when the lady of the house was occupied. Her early years had been spent in the service of the Arc children; entertaining them as an extra warm body for their games, a mannequin for their whimsy's, a scapegoat for their mischief and the butt of many of their jokes.

Never the less, she had been happy for a time. Children could be petty and cruel, but they were playful and not yet hardened by the prejudices of the world.

* * *

 _77 AGP_

"Mama," Sapphire asked, " why does Velvet have bunny ears?"

Lady Arc paused for a moment, unused to her daughter's questions and wondering how to tell a three year old that her babysitter and playmate was a different species.

" Because Velvet is a Faunus, dear. That means she's almost human but that she also has an animal part."

Velvet stiffened but bit her tongue. At 5 years old, she knew what her Mistress had said was technically right, but being called 'almost human' felt deeply wrong to her. She had all the same parts as the other kids, she just had a little bit extra too. But she knew better than to back talk Lady Arc, mother had told her so." If she says the sky is green, you smile, and if she calls you a filthy mutt, you nod." Lady Arc had never said that, and she hoped she wouldn't, she really liked Lady Arc and she'd probably cry if she did and then the girls would tease her for crying too much like she always did and-

" But I want bunny ears too!" Sapphire whined, breaking Velvet's train of thought. " I would look so cute! Or maybe if I had kitty ears, I could be like a puma!"

Lady Isabelle sighed, before turning to the young Faunus. " Velvet, run along and find your mother. You're free for the rest of the day. Sapphire and I need to talk."

Velvet nodded sadly before leaving the room, knowing that her mistress was going to explain to her youngest daughter that a Faunus was the last thing anyone would ever want to be. She would never look at Velvet the same way and then it would be even harder trying to keep Sapphire out of trouble.

Velvet darted nervously down the hallways, stopping whenever she heard the tell tale sound of footsteps approaching. Free time during the day was strange to her, and she didn't want to get in anyone's way. Avoiding everyone for the rest of the day seemed to be a good plan. Velvet had nothing else to do. Her mother hated being bothered when she was working and she couldn't wander the estate alone without the staff members being mean to her. She was too tiny to do anything useful other than watch the children, and five of them were bigger than her.

Jaune and Sapphire were almost her age so all she could do was bring them with her to lessons and she could barely make them do that. Velvet never understood why they tried so hard to get out of going. Lessons were the only time she felt like she could do something well. She could read and write as well as the others, and she could count higher too. Books didn't take all the best toys first or order her to lose games, numbers didn't care if she was an animal, and the family tutor was one of the only human grown ups that didn't ignore her.

The Mistress was pregnant again, so maybe Velvet would be big enough to really help when the baby was born. A small smile grew on her face at the thought. The idea that someone might look up to her, listen to her, and even respect her was a novel delight.

It would be best to hide for the rest of the day. The grounds were big, so she could wander mostly alone until sundown, find mother and then head back to the servants quarters. Carefully listening for nearby voices, she skittered across the grass and crawled under a hedge. Midway through the she bumped into something and found herself staring into a pair of cobalt blue eyes.

"Jaune?" She said. He was supposed to be spending time with his older sisters today.

"Velvet?"

" What are you doing here?"

" Hiding." he said, covering her mouth with his small hand as footsteps approached. The pair reflexively pulled themselves deeper into the green wall, tiny bodies sliding through the small cracks.

" Jauney!" A voice called out playfully. "Where are you?! We have a surprise for you."

" Charlotte, you're only going to scare him off." The older blonde said. " Come out, Jaune. We won't do anything, we promise."

" But he'd look so cute!" Charlotte cackled, as the footsteps grew more and more distant.

Velvet's eyes questioningly met Jaune's.

" They tried to put me in a dress." He said. Velvet giggled.

" It's not funny!" He insisted petulantly. Velvet shook her head before motioning to leave the hedge, slightly disappointed that the hiding place had already been taken. Jaune grabbed her arm as she neared the edge.

" You can't go." He said desperately. " Fleur and Charlotte will find me."

"I'm your servant." Velvet said, lightly tugging against his grip. " Just tell me not to tell them where you are." Jaune shook his head.

" Not good enough." the little boy said firmly. " You're my sister's servant too, and if they ask you, you'll talk." Velvet would never pout in front of one of her employers, that would be unbecoming of her status. Still, she came pretty close as the four year old held her in place.

"So what do you want me to do?" She asked hesitantly. " Stay here all day?" That was her original plan... but he didn't need to know that.

" Just promise me you won't say anything." He said. Velvet looked at him in confusion.

" Does that... make a difference?" She asked shyly.

"Of course it does!" Jaune says. " You could disobey an order. I don't do what people tell me to all the time!" Velvet's eye twitched involuntarily. She was _vividly_ aware of that fact. " But a promise is special. An Arc never goes back on their word." He said, gesturing to tiny crest emblazoned on Velvet's shoulder. " You're kind of an Arc so that goes for you too."

Velvet paused as Jaune stared at her hopefully, waiting for her reply. This wasn't an order, it was a request, like she was an equal... practically a member of the family...

" O-Okay." She stuttered out, flushing slightly. " I promise."

"Pinky swear?" The boy asked solemnly.

"Pinky swear."

The two joined fingers in an awkward ritual. " Are… we doing this right?" She asked.

" I think so."

Jaune relaxed against the bushes, relief coloring his features.

" Thanks." he said. " Don't get me wrong, I love my sisters, it's just... sometimes I don't quite fit in with them, you know."

" I..." Velvet mumbled. " I don't quite fit in either." She stared at her feet, not meeting the boy's eyes. " I was going to hide too."

Jaune looked at the older girl pensively before grinning. " If you need a place to hide, why don't you stay here? We can not fit in together!"

Alone... together? The boy seemed so...earnest when he said that. It was a stupid, silly, infectious idea, and Velvet couldn't help but grin as well. " What do you want to do?" Velvet asked, shifting nervously. Children didn't normally hide in the dark and do nothing together... did they?

The blond stood, pensive for a moment, before a manic glint entered his eye."Race you to the top!" Jaune shouted, leaping up and grabbing a branch as he began to scale the hedge.

"Wait!" Velvet said anxiously, trying to stop him. Within seconds, a sharp crack sounded as the 4 year old fell to the ground, somehow managing to find a branch too small to support his weight.

Velvet rushed over to the small blond, looking him over for injuries. Aside from a few scuffs and watery eyes he looked fine. Jaune glared petulantly at the broken twig in his hand while Velvet suppressed a giggle.

" Let's forget that happened." He said awkwardly. " Try again?" Velvet nodded happily and the two slowly began their ascent, careful to spot the best branches and helping each other all the way to the top.

And so for an afternoon the two were not master and servant, or human and faunus, they were merely two children playing with one another. By the time the sunset they had passed out in the shade beneath the bushes, where Sabrina, the eldest daughter of the Arcs, finally found them. The Arc sisters mercilessly teased and interrogated the pair, asking them what they were doing in the bushes for so long.

Velvet never told them anything.


	2. All's Fair: Nursery Rhymes

_**Volume I: All's Fair**_

 _79 AGP_

Noel Arc was a remarkably quiet baby. She rarely cried and never threw tantrums. " It's the most remarkable thing." Lady Arc was prone to say to any house guest willing to listen " That child is the most angelic babe I've ever seen." Then she would scoff and wonder aloud why all of her other children were so troublesome.

The reason for the infant's reserve was simple - Noel never needed to raise her voice. The slightest tells were enough to draw her caretaker's attention, a hungry whimper or a pleased coo. At the moment Noel's nose was scrunched in a decidedly unpleasant expression.

Velvet sniffed, then sighed. " I know, I smell it too." She said, rocking the baby in her arms as she looked for a quiet corner to do her work. At the end of the hallway there was secluded spot behind a bust of Silver Arc- a fine a place as any.

With practiced finesse she pulled off the diaper and tied it in a sturdy not from the outside, sealing its contents as best she could. Setting it down for the moment on the marble next to the destroyer of men, she removed a few pieces of the appropriate cloth and began wiping. 'Down and away, down and away.' In less than a minute she had tied the replacement on and set the soiled rags in as neat a pile as she could manage. Her reward was a happily wriggling baby. The rabbit faunus smiled in spite of herself.

Ever since Noel had been born, Velvet had taken more than her share of responsibility caring for the girl. Velvet's mother was responsible for feeding Noel while the mistress was busy, and said mistress liked to hold her daughter as much as was convenient, but the mundane time between naps and milk and pleasantries belonged to the young rabbit faunus.

It was the favorite of her fledgling duties. For the first time Velvet felt that she was doing something truly useful with her time. Noel was infinitely more needing of her attention and infinitely more cooperative than her older siblings, and trusted Velvet implicitly. There was always a wellspring of joy and affection whenever she met those baby blue eyes. Velvet would clean a mountain of dirty diapers for someone to look at her like that.

Velvet's heard heavy footsteps approaching and turned to see Baird, one of the janitorial staff, taking out a load of trash from the kitchens. " Do you have any room for-" Velvet began, before wilting at the glare the older man gave her. His eyes wandered to the young Arc girl and the pile of soiled rags as his scowl deepened.

" Shit."

Velvet just nodded and quietly handed the man the soiled pile. One of his fingers brushed against hers, and he made a show of wiping it against the outside of the diaper before dropping it in the container and lumbering away, cursing under his breath.

Velvet's eyes watered slightly as she turned her focus back to the baby, bouncing it in her arms. " You prefer touching me to poop, don't you?" Noel giggled in response, babbling pleasant nonsense. Velvet held her close, cradling the girl against her chest.

Looking the little girl in the eye, Velvet wondered what kind of person she would grow up to be. She would, if the fates were kind, grow up to be a healthy young woman. Her parents would raise her in comfort and encourage a match to ensure that comfort could continue. Would she revel in the sheltered life of an aristocratic woman, like Sapphire, or would she, like Sabrina, accept it all with bored resignation? Would she regard those beneath her with open contempt or civil indifference? When she could walk and talk for herself, would Noel have any reason to look at a lowly servant with that soft smile of hers?

"Vehveh." The girl cooed happily.

' It doesn't matter.' Whatever tomorrow might bring, it couldn't tarnish the pleasures of today. She covered her face, grinning at how incredulously bright Noel's eyes got when she 'reappeared.'

After enjoying a game of Peekaboo, Velvet's ears twitched again, and she heard new footsteps from across the hall. A light, measured walk was being followed by a plodding gait.

"Sateen." she heard dimly. " You have to have heard more than that!"

Velvet recognized the voice. Braun wasn't a regular servant so much as a political tool. A young cadet entering the common ranks, Braun had been injured in a training accident and rendered unfit for duty. At least until Lord Arc stepped in. In his infinite generosity, he offered to pay the boy's medical costs and offer him room, board and gainful employment in the months it would take him to recover. He put him right in Radian Hall, so everyone would know he had done it.

The public relations move might have strengthened Arc's image with the military, but it had done nothing to Braun save to inflame his ego. After being wined and dined by upper crust of the kingdom, the boy wasn't keen on spending days doing whatever menial work the staff could find for him, preferring to eat their food and waste their time instead. Velvet had heard whispers counting down the days until he returned to service, and suggestions that he be deployed far, far away from Vale.

"That's all I can tell you." Sateen said sternly.

As both a hormonal male and a human supremacist, Braun had a love-hate relationship with Sateen Scarlatina. He both disliked and was fascinated by her, and she was too prim and proper to scare him away.

Worse still was that Braun had discovered her to be a vital source of information. Aside from being on the staff for half a decade, the Scarlatina Faunus ears were not for show. Mother and daughter both tended to 'hear' things most people would miss. The more curious members of the staff would sometimes badger Sateen for gossip- the cautious ones gave her a wide berth. None of them said anything around her that they didn't want the Master to hear. A few even thought she was a spy for the Arcs, sent to weed out trouble in the house.

Mrs. Scarlatina, Velvet was almost certain, was a spy for Lord Arc, as a matter of fact. Most servants were beneath his notice, but so too was he aware that his equals thought the same way. Few regarded the Faunus servant Arc was fool enough to hire with anything more than dull contempt. It was amazing what men let slip when they'd had a few drinks and thought no one was listening in.

Spying might have ingratiated her to the Arcs, but it just gave the servants another reason to look down on the Scarlatinas.

Velvet looked up as the pair entered her line of sight.

" Arc was meeting for an hour with that old coot." Braun said. " Those ears of yours have to be good for something."

" I was helping to cook their meal, I wasn't in the room."

" What do you take me for, some dumb animal?" Braun growled. " That kind of excuse might fly with your usual crowd, but not me. You heard something juicy. Tell me."

The Faunus woman didn't even react to the slur.

" Lord Arc has agreed to give Lord Merlot's youngest brother a job in exchange for Merlot's support for his tax on imported dust on the Council." Sateen said, settling on what she thought to be a harmless detail, if only to shut the boy up.

" Hah!" Braun said. " Bet the merchants are going to go batty over that one! And since all of Old Man Arc doesn't deal in dust he won't be taxed a dime. That corrupt bastard really is as rotten as the rest of them."

" That 'corrupt bastard' is the master of this house and puts food on your plate." Sateen said harshly. " I'm sure he'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on tax policy, though. _Very_ interested."

Braun let out a nervous chuckle. " Come on Satty," he joked, "There's no need for that. Take that stick out of your ass. I'm just kidding around." He gestured to his cast. "I'm bored is all, more suited to punching then politics."

Her mother ignored the boy's bluster as her eyes locked on her daughter.

"Velvet, there you are. I've been looking for you." Her mother said. Velvet looked over to the pair, feigning that she had just now noticed them.

" You have?" Velvet asked.

Sateen Scarlatina looked expectantly at her daughter, eyes narrowed. No doubt she knew that Velvet knew they were coming, and no doubt she was irritated with her daughter for keeping her waiting.

The two Faunus had more in common than their ears- they had the same straight brown hair, the same brown eyes, even similar skin tones. But Velvet felt little kinship while awaiting her orders. She knew her mother wasn't the type to seek her out for mere maternal concern; Mrs. Scarlatina was strictly business.

" It's time for Noel's nap." She said sternly. " I told you to find me at noon."

"... I must have lost track of time." Velvet said quietly. None of the servants could afford watches, and Velvet liked to avoid the parts of the house with clocks- they tended to be too crowded for her tastes.

Braun was a scrawny teen with a broken arm, but he carried himself as if he were a much stronger man. " You screwed up, brat." He said cheekily. " Aren't you supposed to do what your ' _bloody mum_ ' asks you to?" Velvet sighed as her mother kept a neutral expression at the boy's goading. Though her accent was fainter than most, it still permeated some of her speech, as well as Velvet's. The peculiar lilt was just another way the pair stood out from the other servants, and her mother didn't like having it pointed out.

'Always mother, never mum.' she thought.

"What are you waiting for?" Her mother said, ignoring Braun. " Hand her over."

"Yes mother." Velvet said. As she extend her arms to hand off the infant, Noel started shifting around, uncomfortable.

"Vehveh." She whined. " Vehveh."

Velvet drew the girl closer in, trying to calm her. " It's okay." she cooed, rocking her gently. "It'll only be for a little while." The baby met her eyes, in understand or something like it, then stilled. She reluctantly handed Noel over to her mother.

"Vehveh, huh?" Braun said. " It sounded like the Arc brat was trying to talk."

" I think it's my name." Velvet said brightly, happy to finally have someone to share this with. "She can't quite say it, but I know what she means. I'm her first word!"

" It's babbling gibberish, obviously." Sateen said in a way that brokered no argument. " Lady Arc is looking forward to hearing Noel's first words, but since she's so quiet that won't be for a few more months, and when it happens it'll be 'mama'." She met Velvet's eyes. "Understand?"

"Yes, mother." She said,deflating.

Mrs. Scarlatina then adjusted her uniform so that Noel could suckle, holding her in place as the baby fed. After years of such work she was an expert at revealing as little as possible while doing it, something that seemed to disappoint Braun.

" Since the baby is in my hands for the afternoon, you should go watch the other children." Sateen said. "They should be in their game room, and after being cooped up last week for all the visiting dignitaries they'll be particularly restless."

"I can't watch them." Velvet pointed out. " 5 of them are older than me, and Jaune and Sapphire are almost my age. Even if I do try to tell them anything, they'll order me around instead. I might as well not even be there." She looked at her mother pleadingly. " Couldn't I go to the library, or help out Mrs. Ramsey in the kitchen-"

"Velvet" her mother said dryly. "Go."

"...Yes mother."

Velvet shuffled off listlessly to the nursery as Braun laughed at her dismay. " The family pet doesn't want to play?"

Let him laugh. She knew what kind of work was in store for her.

* * *

 _Sometime earlier_

* * *

Time had slowed to a crawl as Velvet 'played' with the erstwhile baby of the Arc brood.

"Over there!" Sapphire said imperiously. Velvet sighed as she moved the makeshift table across the grass. The summer sun beat down on her. Sapphire, with her parasol, was oblivious.

" That'll have to do." She said, mildly disappointed. " Now remember." she said seriously as Velvet pretended to set the table, " Fluffers takes no cream with his tea. Amadeus doesn't like talking about the frontier and should be kept away from the Generals, who should be kept away from the kegs… and Lord Jingleshmidt doesn't go anywhere near Lady Rhea after the two of them were caught…" Sapphire struggled over the word, " fornificating." she said, preening while she bungled the word.

Sapphire more than any of the other girls took to the idea of being mistress of the house, and happily mirrored her mother in planning and running balls, dances and dinners, right down to political considerations and jargon she didn't understand.

Unfortunately that also meant she expected to have servants to follow her large and ever changing plans, and the only one unoccupied was Velvet. For the 38th time that hour Velvet repositioned the various dolls and adjusted their orders.

" On second thought." Sapphire said, stroking her chin. "Extra cream for Fluffers." Velvet sighed.

"SAPPHIRE!" A voice called from across the grounds. "Play time's over, it's time for dinner!" The girl giggled as she noticed the sun setting.

"... I guess time flies when you're having fun." She looked at Velvet. " Mom will want all this put away."

Velvet nodded as the girl skipped off into the house, taking a moment to slump against the trunk of a tree. 'Finally, a little rest.'

* * *

Using her entire frame to support the weight of several heavy books, Velvet struggled to knock on the door to the eldest Arc daughter's room.

The door swung open, narrowly missing the young servant.

"Sabrina!" Rebecca called out. " The kiss ass is here!"

"I sent her to the library. Let her in." The older girl replied. Her sister groaned before stepping aside.

Sabrina was writing at her desk, ignoring the presence of Sapphire and Rebecca. The 7th of the Arc children was splayed on the bed, pouting impotently at her sister. The 4th child looked dismissively at their new guest.

"Hey kiss ass." She said crankily.

"Please don't call me that." Velvet said, struggling under the weight.

"Do you prefer waterworks?" Rebecca replied, noticing the tears forming in Velvet's eyes.

"No." The girl said, lips quivering.  
"Then kiss ass it is."

Velvet blinked away what she could, and set the books down on Sabrina's desk with a dull thud. The teenager looked at her appraisingly, setting down her pen, and began thumbing the spines of the books.

Velvet didn't mind making book runs. The library had become a refuge of hers, one of her favorite places in the manner. During lectures, Mr. Sylveon allowed her to sit in the back, and even gave her old workbooks to use alongside the other children. Velvet devoted herself wholeheartedly to her studies; when faced with being lesser than everyone around her, finding something she was truly good at was an incredible feeling. Anytime she had to herself was spent in the library, buried in whatever had caught her fancy. In the rare instances where the family tutor openly acknowledged her, he had remarked that she soaked up knowledge like a sponge.

Sabrina appreciated the library almost as much as Velvet did. The eldest child was one of the few who noticed the budding bibliophile. The mutual respect the introverts had for one another had the unfortunate side effect of giving Velvet an additional job. Most servants were illiterate, and Sabrina's less studious siblings were far less familiar with the room's layout. Thus the older girl only trusted Velvet to locate her many required readings when she was too indisposed or lazy to visit the room herself.

" I asked for Volume 4 of Claudius's _Historia Valea_." She said irritably, waving the massive tome that barely fit in her hand. " Not a collection of his various works."  
" Someone else must have taken Volume 4." Velvet said placatingly. In fact she had hidden it under her bed, but that detail was better kept private. " But the collection has Volumes 1 through 5, and Cladius's essays on culture and geography should be good reference material for Mr. Sylveon's assignment."

Sabrina nodded thoughtfully. " Acceptable." She then picked up another offending book. " This, however -this is a travesty." Velvet could make out the title on the faded red paperback. _The Princess's Delights_.

"Is that one of your ' _romance'_ books?" Rebecca asked, nose crinkled in disgust.

"It should be." Sabrina said hotly. " I asked for the 1st edition, not the 2nd. One has all the best parts, and the other doesn't. I was very specific."  
"...Lady Arc removed the 1st edition last week." Velvet replied, eyes downcast. " She said that a proper young lady shouldn't be reading that kind of literature."

"That prude." Sabrina growled. "This will have to do, then."

"You know...15 is a bit old to be playing princess." Rebecca simpered.

"Says the 9 year old."

" I'm serious. Your debut was last night. Put off courting your suitors for too long, and you could end up an old maid." Sabrina flipped the page, ignoring her stewing sister."Shouldn't you drop the novels and start thinking about your own love life?" Rebecca said bluntly.

" Love's got nothing to do with it."

The servant caught the eldest daughter's eye and shared a knowing glance. Sabrina had read as much history as Velvet; she knew how the game was played. Fewer alliances were stronger those between family, and Mason's ambitions were as numerous as his offspring.

" Don't be like that." Sapphire said. " There's got to be _someone_ that caught your eye. Someone you might want to get to know a bit better. Half the kingdom came."  
Sabrina turned the page while Rebecca shook her head at the younger girl's pouting.

"Stop ignoring me!" Sapphire whined. "I want to know what it's like."

"You'll know." Sabrina said absentmindedly. " Dad will still be here when you grow up to explain it to you."

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Like that matters. It was your night. All eyes on you." she said reverently. "Dad's never had a debut."

"He'll have 7." Sabrina replied cuttingly.

" And you'll have 1." Rebecca said. " What are you using it for?"

The eldest daughter sighed. "I've already met with father and mother to discuss potential arrangements for the most suitable matches."

"Are they dashing?" Sapphire asked excitedly.

"They'll do." Sabrina said. " The first is coming over next week." She flipped forward several chapters, and her lips curled upward in a smirk as she found a racy passage that had evaded revision.

The eldest Arc daughter frowned as she scanned the page, before sighing in disappointment. " Until then I will continue to indulge myself as best I can." She turned the page again.

" You may go now, Velvet."

Velvet nodded silently as she left the room.

* * *

Card games were popular among the common people of Vale. The nobles typically disdained them as low class, tied to gambling, drunkenness and irresponsibility.

Naturally, such games were the guilty pleasure of the upper class, and the Arc children were no exception. Sabrina had gotten more respect as the eldest sibling for smuggling a worn deck of playing cards into the nursery than all the lectures in the world could give her, and the elder sisters typically lorded whatever knowledge they had of rules and slang, with the younger children for once paying rapt attention to them. Prized marbles and pebbles discovered on the Radian grounds replaced money, but the way the children played you would think they were gambling fortunes.

"And there's the river." Fleur said, trying and failing miserably to hide her disappointment. Meeting Charlotte's smug grin, she reluctantly laid her cards on the ground. "Fold."

Only Rebecca, Charlotte and Velvet were left in the game.

Velvet looked at the ace and ten in her hands, and the king, queen and jack on the floor. A royal flush. 'This shouldn't be possible.' She thought deliriously, running the numbers through her head. ' 1 in 649,740. A once in a lifetime chance. Someone's going to make a crack about a rabbit's foot...'

A shock of blond filled her peripheral. " What cards do you have?" Jaune asked. Velvet hugged them to her chest. " Come on," he whined. "Please?"

"She isn't going to show you, Jaune." Sabrina said sternly. " That'd be dumb."

"I'm not playing." Jaune said petulantly. " I could help her strategize… or something."

"This coming from the boy who literally lost all his marbles?" Carolyn teased.

"...I had one bad hand." he whispered, eyes staring off into the distance with a melancholy glint.

Rebecca chortled. " Don't worry, Jauney." She said arrogantly. " When I have all the marbles, I might let you borrow a few if you grovel and beg real nicely."

"You haven't won yet, 'Becca." Charlotte muttered.

"Really? Let's fix that." Rebecca said lazily. Velvet didn't want to overplay her hand and threw into the pot a small blue orb she had gotten as a present from her father. Her own trinkets were few and far between, but she wasn't really gambling them away if she knew she would win. The thought of quadrupling her meagre stash was not quite as sweet as the prospect of finally winning.

Charlotte sighed and threw in her own purple marble. Rebecca threw in two, and looked at her own pile to realize she was almost out. The 4th Arc child then got a wicked grin as she turned to her opponents.

"Velvet, fold."

Velvet was midway through meeting the ante when she seemed to Faunus girl looked on in shock, shaking.

" What are you-" Charlotte began.

"That was an order." Rebecca said sternly. " Servants are supposed to obey their masters."

" B-b-b.. but th-thats, that's not fair." Velvet whimpered, eyes beginning to water as they faced the unyielding glare of the older girl.

"Did I stutter or something?" She barked. "Now."

Velvet threw her cards to the floor, tears flowing freely as she got up to run from the room. She ignored the feeble calls after her, barely noticing the boy who picked up her cards, or the way his blue eyes hardened as he glared at his sister.

That was the last time Velvet ever volunteered to play cards. Out of guilt or on a whim, it was the last time the Arc children ever asked.

* * *

'Why am I doing this again' Velvet thought absentmindedly as she wandered in front of the Radian Hall, twig in hand.

"Halt, villain!" A voice cried out. 'Oh. That's why.'

Velvet turned to face the young Knight.

"This village is under my protection." He said seriously. " I won't let a fiend like you harm it." He waved his own stick at her threateningly. " Do you dare challenge the mighty Sir Vyven of Alastia!"

"... Avast…" She said nervously as the boy charged forward. She swung the twig wildly, striking him in the face.

"Ow!" He cried, clutching his eye.

Velvet dropped her weapon. "Jaune, are you okay! I'm so sorry, I-" she was cut off as the boy tackled her to the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

She shrieked in discomfort as a hand wrapped around one of her ears. Jaune paused, looking genuinely contrite.

" Sorry." he said,moving his hand. Velvet capitalized on his loosening of his grip, attempting to shake herself free. Jaune flailed clumsily before falling back on top of her, using his weight to pin her.

" Very clever. I'll have to use my ultimate technique to defeat you."

"Wait." Velvet said in mock terror. "Please don't!"

Jaune's hands slipped under her arms and he began tickling her relentlessly. The faunus girl broke down into shivering laughter.

"St-st-st-stop!" she called out, stifling giggles. " I surrender!"

The knight grinned down at her as she caught her breath, panting.

"Once again Remnant's bravest hero saves the day." He said triumphantly.

As the sole boy of the family, Jaune was starved for rough and tumble play. His parents were too busy, and his sisters had either outgrown or wanted to seem like they had outgrown such things.

Velvet, therefore, was always on the receiving end of his roughhousing. A few of the Arc sisters, who were sitting comfortably on the nearby porch, sent her sympathetic looks as their brother pinned her to the ground.

...While she could do with less hair pulling, as she stared at the grinning face above her she didn't think it was all that bad.

Jaune offered her a hand up, which she gladly took. She was confused by the amused look on the blond boy's face.

"Avast?" He teased.

Velvet colored. " I was trying to get in character. You know, big, mean pirate."

Jaune shook his head. " It wasn't working. You don't have a mean bone in your body."

" I… I'm sorry." She said. She had thought she was doing a good job.

Jaune shook his head. " Don't be- it's not a bad thing. It's just… part of who you are."

"Why am I always the bad guy, then?" She asked.

Jaune rubbed the back of his head nervously. " Because… you're nice enough to always let me be the hero?" Velvet nodded tiredly. She was also too nice to tell him how sore this kind of thing made her- he was starting to get heavy, after all.

The pair sat in companionable silence for a moment.

"...So." Jaune said, looking at her eagerly. " Remember last night when everyone was here for Sabrina's party?"  
Velvet nodded.  
"Well, Bruno Adel was there, and he said since he's becoming a cadet he was getting rid of his all his marbles."

Velvet winced. She was down to 3 after that disastrous game; Jaune's collection was non-existent.

"Bruno told me he dropped a whole bag of them off somewhere on the grounds. He also said I could keep if I found them."

"...That's … great." Velvet said, immediately seeing where the rest of her afternoon was headed.

The grounds around Radian Hall were practically a keep with in the city of Vale, a circle that extended a quarter mile in each direction bounded by high walls. Searching every nook and cranny of the 125 acre estate could take days, weeks even, especially if Bruno was pulling the younger boy's leg; it wouldn't be the first time.

" It's not that bad." Jaune whined. "We can even be pirates, if you want. Think of all the treasure we can find!."

"...We?"

"Yeah." Jaune said. " The crew splits the booty. You're running low too, right?"

" ...I'm down to three."

" So it's settled." Jaune said. " We'll start by the North Gate and work our way to the house in a spiral."

It sounded like a lot of work. "Sounds like fun." Velvet said with half a smile.

"First one to find the pouch gets first pick. Let's hop to it." The boy said, as the two began their march. " A captain can't let his crew slack."

"Aye-aye."

* * *

"No."

"Jaune... please?"

The boy grunted petulantly as he turned his back to her.

"I'm not going today. That's final."

All six of his school aged sisters watched Jaune blow off the servant girl with mild amusement. Their tutor had announced that he would not give lessons to any of them until Jaune was present. Not that they particularly minded one way or the other- Velvet would drag the boy to class and they could enjoy the spectacle.

"You have to." she pleaded. " Long division is on the schedule and if you keep putting it off he won't teach it to you." 'Or me.' The Arc family tutor was a dry but competent man. His explanations were brief but helpful, and Velvet had been having trouble finding the algorithm on her own.

"It's a beautiful day, Velv." he replied. "I don't want to waste it cooped up inside." He looked at her hopefully. " Why don't we build a fort? Play hide and seek?" Velvet tugged on his shirt weakly.

"We're late." She said. "You know I can't stop until you go."

Jaune looked at her. "Forget Mom's orders." he said. " You don't work for her yet. It's not like your mom's going to get into trouble with mine because I didn't go to class." Velvet shifted uncomfortably. She didn't want to risk it.

"If you let me go, we can do whatever you want today."

"Anything?"

"Yeah. Promise." he said brightly. Velvet let him go. "So," he asked, " what are we doing?"

"... I want to go to class." she said guiltily, watching the smile vanish from his face.

"That's… that's not fair!" he whined.

"You promised." An Arc never goes back on their word. Velvet didn't like having to twist that against him- she didn't like being the bad cop for the closest thing she had to a friend in the whole world. But it was her job.

"I promised to do anything not to go to class." he protested. "Actually going doesn't count."

Velvet winced as he glared at her as if she were some kind of traitor. His anger would pass. His own pride wouldn't let him skive off if she didn't release him, and she couldn't do that.  
"If you want to go to tutoring and suck up to Sylveon you can do it yourself you… you…" he sputtered,. "..kiss ass!".

It was the first time Jaune had ever called her that. And as luck would have it, it was first time Lady Arc had heard one of her children swear.

Almost out of nowhere the woman appeared, scowling deeply.

"Jaune Arc!" she yelled. "Where on Earth did you learn to talk like that?!"

The boy's eyes darted to the approaching form of his indignant mother and then towards a glaring Rebecca before guiltily going to the floor. "Nowhere…" he said unconvincingly.

Isabelle Arc grabbed her only son by the ear and dragged him kicking and screaming in the kitchen to wash his mouth out.

As he went, Velvet couldn't even look him in the eye.

 _Present day_

The nursery, as the adults called it, was set aside on the West Wing of Radian Hall, away from the guest rooms and the kitchens and the ballroom or anything other place where small children were not always welcome.

Once a week or so, the Arc children were sent into this room for family bonding. The older siblings often complained, and refused to call it a 'nursery' while they were using it, but their participation was non-negotiable.

Velvet stood in front of the room, preparing for whatever chaos was on the other side of the door. Seven children, all with the authority to order her around and several of whom were sure to be in a bad mood.

She opened the door to shouting.  
" Come on!" Jaune whined. " It's my turn to go first."

"It was your turn last week." Rebecca said. The two were standing in front of the toy chest. Once again, their parents had dictated that all the toys were to be shared, for 'bonding'. Who got first pickings was one of many areas of tension that made nursery duty particularly grating.

" I was grounded!" Jaune said angrily.

"And whose fault is that?"

Sabrina was the first of the children to notice Velvet's presence. She gave the girl a faint nod and went back to whatever book had got her attention. The others were too engrossed by the spectacle in front of the toy chest.

"Who went first last week?" Jaune huffed.

"I did!" Rebecca answered. "Somebody had to."

"Then that was your turn and this week's mine!"

"Nope, it's still my turn." Rebecca said. " Use it or lose it, no refunds."

"'Becca!" Jaune whined, slumping over the lid of the chest. " Stop being mean! I just want to take Sir Vyven. You don't even like Sir Vyven."

" I will take him from spite, you little bastard!"

" Nuh uh. I won't let you!"

"Get off!" She said, trying to shove the stubborn boy off her prize.

The two were staring each other down when Jaune saw Velvet out of the corner of his eye.

The faunus girl waved at him shyly. His eyes hardened and he turned his attention back to his sister, who had taken his lapse in attention as an opportunity to slip by him.

'It's fine.' Velvet told herself. 'Everyone else ignores me-so what if this hurts more- I don't care, I-'

"By the gods, don't start crying again." Sabrina said irritably, waving a book in front of her servant. " Just take it and calm down."  
"...Thanks." Velvet whispered, wiping water out of her eyes. She treaded slowly to her familiar corner, on the far side of the room and away from the arguing pair.

She would settle into crevice and enjoy the relative downtime before her peace was interrupted by some ruddy-

"Isn't there someone who can shut them up!?" Sapphire whined. As far as the other Arcs were concerned argument was merely holding up the game for the rest them.

Fleur turned to her older sister, pointedly saying "I don't know, maybe the _actual legal adult_ in the room could step up and do something."

Sabrina muttered something unintelligible and flipped the page.

Fleur groaned.

"Well, there is someone else who can sort this out." Charlotte said cheekily. " Someone whose job is specifically to keep all of us in line."

Rebecca followed her sisters line of sight, then scoffed. " You have got to be kidding."

Velvet put down the book, sighing. 'Half a page.' she thought. ' I didn't even get half a page.'

" Velvet?" Fleur asked, half sarcastically, half with the hope that playing along might finally calm things down, " Whose turn is it today?"

" This is total crap and you know it." Rebecca said sharply. " We all know that rodent's just going to choose- oohhh…" the girl said, grinning slightly. " Oh this is rich."

Jaune glared at Velvet out of the corner of his eyes, not daring to hope, before pouting at his sister.

" Go on, Velvet." Rebecca said haughtily. " Whose side are you on?"

Velvet was torn. Jaune might be acting like a jerk, but Rebecca had just called her a rodent to her face. Strictly speaking, rabbits were rodents, of course, but faunus were not the species from which their gifts came from, and regardless, the tone had been far from neutral observation.

Of course, if she were a rabbit, she could just burrow and hide from the predators that were watching her every move like a hawk for the moment.

Both were staring at her, grinning or glaring. Stepping in like this was sure to irritate at least of her master's children, who would have no shortage of opportunities to take it out on her. Rebecca had by far the worst temper of the bunch … but Jaune … Jaune had a far greater capacity to hurt her.

While his sister grinned wolfishly at her, his eyes darting away from her, no pleading, just frustration and a bracing for inevitable loss.

It would infuriate Rebecca … but if she gave the day to Jaune as a peace offering? She looked over at him again, trying to reach his eyes, but he avoided her.

"Just do it." He muttered lifelessly.

He'd be too stubborn to accept her help when they were fighting, when it was a fight he started. Better to placate his sister and have just one of them mad at her… or to just stay silent until they grew tired of waiting and moved on.

" If you could say something today, please," Rebecca drawled. "that'd be great."

No, better not to take sides. " I have the same problem as the toy chest." Velvet said diplomatically. " I take orders from both of you. If the two of you disagree on what I'm supposed to do, I don't have the right to choose between you."

"Sure you don't." Rebecca said dismissively. "Okay, Jaune, this is getting really old. Just listen to your big sister for once in your life and back off."

Jaune wasn't paying attention to his sister. Or rather, not just to her. He looked at the faunus girl with a bewildered expression, like she had said something that was obviously wrong. His gaze drifted from person to person, looking for reassurance and finding none. Weakly, he forced himself to look back at Velvet.

"Becca," he said slowly, " when was the last time ... Velvet got a turn?"

His sister scoffed. " A servant isn't one of us, she doesn't get a turn. Don't be dumb."

The boy winced. "...That's not fair."

Rebecca rolled her eyes. " So, what, it's her turn today?"

"Yeah." He said.

"Really?" she said. She looked at her sisters for support, but none moved. Carolyn, younger than Rebecca but older than Jaune, made the decision. " If it gets the two of you to shut up, then yes, really."

"Fine." Rebecca murmured. She turned to the faunus, arms crossed. " Don't keep us waiting."  
Velvet took a moment to marvel at her good fortune. Slowly, she moved to the chest, popping it open.

Inside there were plenty of dolls, blocks, stuffed animals (which for the most part she did not care for), and even the worn toy knight that Jaune was so enamored with.

The Faunus girl hesitated. She had always contented herself with whatever was left over when the Arc children got their picks, so she had never allowed herself to choose a favorite. Faced with the wealth of options before her she didn't… her eyes locked onto a forgotten box at the bottom of the chest, one she had noticed many times but never brought out. She did know what she wanted.

The box was dusty when she pulled it out, yet a quick polishing job revealed its title , carved in an elegant script. 'Remnant: The Game'  
"What is that?" Sapphire asked, curious.

Fleur squinted. " I think it's one of Dad's old war games." She said. " Looks like it hasn't been played since his time either."

"That game's not going to be worth much with only one player." Rebecca remarked.

" ...I know." Velvet said anxiously. " Which is why… Iwashopingweallcouldplaytogether." she rushed out.

It took the older girl a moment to understand. She scoffed. " No. No way."  
Jaune pouted at her. " 'Becca." He said sternly. " It's her turn."  
"Shut up, twerp."

" You can't make her play, Jaune." Fleur said gently.

" And you won't. What do I get out of this whole charade?"  
The boy paused, biting his lower lip. " How about we add some stakes to the game."

Rebecca grinned. " Now you're speaking my language."  
"What's up for grabs, then?" Carolyn asked.

"Winner gets to take the best toy out of the chest, permanently." Jaune said.

"You're on." Rebecca said. " And after I throttle you, I'll never have to hear you say the words 'Sir Vyven' again."  
"You wouldn't!" Jaune said, eyes bugged out knowing very well that she would. " He's the greatest hero in all of Remnant, slayer of grim, the dust dealing destroyer!"  
"Not for long."

"One more thing." Velvet whispered. " I want the game to be fair."  
Rebecca arched an eyebrow. " What are you talking about?" She turned, looking from sister to sister, each with a knowing glare. "...Okay." she groaned. "Whoever wins, wins. Happy?"

'Very.' Velvet thought, as the group settled in to play.

The cards were worn, but legible, and the texture of the paper felt comfortable in her hands. The game was designed for up to four players, so the children banded together to form teams. Sabrina, unamused by the entire process, stayed in the corner and read, despite her siblings' cajoling.

Jaune and Carolyn took Vale, Fleur and Sapphire took Mantle, Rebecca and Charlotte took Mistral and Velvet was left with Vacuo.

The battle was fierce. Almost immediately Mistral launched an attack on Vale. Rebecca was determined to knock Jaune out of the game, whatever the tactical cost may be, and her sister was more than happy to come along for the mayhem. Jaune and Carolyn rallied admirably, with lucky rolls and solid tactics saving them from doom. Mantle quickly joined in the dogpile, but Sapphire's incessant questioning of Fleur made any discreet planning impossible, and it rapidly evolved into a stalemate.

So enveloped in sibling rivalry were the Arc children that they hardly paid attention to Velvet and her puny little kingdom in the west. None of them noticed when she took a small territory, just enough to get another card, and then quietly halted her advance.

Then, after an hour of bloodshed, when the three great powers had locked themselves in a death struggle on Solitas, she made her move.

" I cash in my conquest cards for 8 additional armies." she said. " I also play letters of marque to double domestic raids in your kingdoms, and I deploy all my forces to Mantle. Using the Vacuo trade winds they arrive in a single turn, and since this is a surprise attack, I get advantage on all rolls."  
6 pairs of blue eyes locked on her, in shock. " She can't do that!" Sapphire whined. Carolyn flipped through the rulebook, then sighed.  
"She can actually."  
It wasn't a battle so much as an execution. With their entire armies annihilated in one fell swoop the other Kingdoms fell before the end of her turn.

Velvet couldn't contain the manic grin that threatened to split her features as the others began to pack the game up.

Fleur looked her over with a wary respect. " You could be dangerous, you know that?"  
Giddy with excitement, the faunus turned over to the friend that had made it all possible.

Jaune, however, had returned back to his previous foul mood. Scowling at the ground, he ignored her. " This game's stupid." he said bitterly.

Velvet's smile died. Then, she did something very foolish. She stuck her tongue out at him and muttered ' jerk' under her breath.

Suddenly, Velvet felt herself jolted off the ground.

Rebecca was 9 to Velvet's 7, but she seemed to tower over the Faunus even as she held her in the air.

"That was a bridge to far." Rebecca said, eyes darkening. " Jaune may be a total idiot, but he's our total idiot. No matter what got into everyone's heads today, no matter what you won, no matter what you do, you're still a servant. And if you ever, ever, get uppity with us again, you'll regret it."  
"I'm sorry." Velvet said nervously, as the grip on her clothes tightening into fists. She looked around, desperate for some sort of escape route. No one else moved." I didn't mean-"  
"I don't care." her mistress growled.

"'Becca!" A voice called out pleadingly. "Stop."

Jaune looked over at his sister, who spent half a second glaring at his impudence before locking her eyes back on her target."  
"Not until this runt remembers her place."  
"I'm sorry- I'm sorry- I won't do it again-" Velvet cried, panicking.

Suddenly the boy was much closer, trying to drive his way in between them.

"Put her down." Jaune said, an unfamiliar steel in his voice. Then, as his sister finally looked him in the eye, he added softly "Please."

Each child was suddenly conscious of the room, once again all locked on the fight in front of them, but this time with far less excitement, and far more fear.

Rebecca took a deep breath, then sighed. She dropped Velvet to the ground, without fanfare and walked in the other direction. "Whatever. We have to get to class anyway." The grandfather clock in the room struck three.

On her way out, Rebecca picked up the toy box, and tossed all of its contents onto the ground. "Someone's going to have to pick that up." She said airily, before walking out of the room.

Almost everyone ignored Velvet, unable to deal with the deathly still girl curled up on the floor. After an awkward silence, they too left the room.

Velvet tried to pull herself back together. She had been having fun, and it had all gone wrong so fast. Now she was going to be late for class, and she couldn't ask Mr. Sylveon for extra time because he was already doing her a favor letting her sit in.

She forced herself up, looking over the mess she would have to clean, only to realize with a start that it had already shrunk considerably.

Not all of the children had left, it seems. Carolyn and Jaune were picking up toys and haphazardly throwing them into the chest.

The faunus girl turned to them, eyes wide.  
"Why?" She asked dully.

"You think I'd miss an opportunity to miss class?" Carolyn said. " Mr. Sylveon is a bore, anyway."

"It'll get done quicker if we all help." Jaune said simply, before clumsily depositing an armful of stuffed animals into the box.

The trio worked silently, and within another minute the three tiny pairs of hands had completed the task.

Carolyn groaned. " We really ought to have dragged that out a bit longer." Velvet said nothing, to emotionally drained to rebuke her.

Jaune's eyes still darted away from her, but now it seemed to be more from guilt than anger.

"Velvet," he said timidly. "what do you think of me?

The girl looked at him, unsure of how to respond.

"Rebecca's not here. I know you're mad at me." He said apologetically. " I'm sorry we fought, and I want to make it better. Just let it all out."  
Velvet quivered, looking at the earnest boy infront of her before something inside her snapped.

"I think you're a jerk!" She yelled. " A big, mean, stupid, arrogant, clumsy, lazy jerk!" Years of emotional repression and neglect had piled up until the floodgates had finally broken. Velvet was only half conscious of the insanity coming out of her mouth, unable to stop its flow. " You never listen to me, you constantly tease me, and pull my hair! You're always getting into trouble, you're always skipping lessons, and you always drag me along! Who's the one who has to clean up your messes? And then you ignore me when all I want to do is h-h-h-elp you." Velvet hiccuped, reason rushing back to her.

'Oh god, by the brothers, what did I just do?' she thought, terrified. Carolyn was staring at the younger girl, slack jawed, while Jaune closed his eyes. If sticking her tongue out was enough to risk everything, what kind of hell had that little outburst won her?

"... I guess I deserved that." Jaune muttered. Carolyn's eyes seemed to bug out of her head as her brother's posture slumped. " I'm sorry I called you a kiss ass."

" I… I…"  
"Are we square now?"

Velvet nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Suddenly, Jaune pulled out something he had and pushed it into her hands. Velvet flinched before recognizing the object.

"You won." Jaune whispered. " And an Arc doesn't go back on his word."  
Wrapped in her hands was the well used figure of Sir Vyven the knight. It was a childish, self-centered thing to assume that just because he thought it was the best toy of the bunch that she would agree. She tucked it away into her pocket, reverently, and knew she would treasure it anyway.

"If you two are done-" Carolyn said, trying to recapture her grip on the world. "we do have to get to class."

"Wait." Jaune said. One more thing. The others paused, and he lunged, firmly tapping Velvet on the shoulder.

"Tag!" He yelled. "You're it!" Then he rushed out of the room.

Velvet grinned. 'Everything's back to normal.' Then she realized this meant she would have to chase him down before the two of them could get to class. She let out a long suffering sigh. 'Everything's back to normal.'

"Better make it quick, bunny." Carolyn said disinterestedly as the girls went their separate ways.

Velvet made her way out of the nursery, hot on his trail. Radian hall was a sizable estate, but she knew Jaune well, and he wouldn't have gone far.

The East Wing was devoted almost entirely to guests, with conference rooms and extra bedrooms on the upper two floors and equipment and the matron's quarters on the ground level. Since they had just finished a rather large get together most of the rooms would be empty, but Jaune wouldn't want to go past the grand staircase in the center of the house, where anyone could spot him and give away his position. The Foyer and the Great Hall were also inaccessible from the West Wing unless one went through the central hallway past the staircase on the first floor, and they had comparatively little cover. And going outside left so many options that it ceased to be much of a game.

So, Jaune would've stayed in the West Wing, the residential part of the manor. The third floor held the master bedroom and the bedrooms of all the children, as well as the nursery, but Velvet discounted it almost immediately and walked down the stairs.

The first floor was likely out as well. The recreational spaces and parlor rooms were by design fairly open, and the likelihood was too high that a servant would come in, spot him, and find someone with the authority to drag him to class.

So it would have to be the second floor. The library was out, for obvious reasons, and Jaune wasn't bold enough to enter into his father's study, so it would be one of the empty bedrooms. In theory the 2nd floor was reserved for cadet lines of House Arc, or very close family friends. In practice, most cadet lines were anxious to preserve whatever independence they had, and Mason Arc was too cautious a man to want those who would greatly benefit from the death of himself or his heir living under his roof. So the bedrooms were empty more often than not, undisturbed. Making them prime hiding territory.

Velvet stood outside one of the doors for a moment, before shaking her head and walking to the next. Jaune, whatever his faults, was an extraordinarily clever child. He had gotten so good at this game, so used to evading Velvet's senses, that he could almost mask his breathing. Almost.

At the room next to the central hallway, she heard a faint rising and falling of air, too faint for any human to detect. With an extra set of ears however, she had locked in her target.

She opened the door, but she was unprepared for the pillow that flew into her face, and the shock of gold that flitted past her down the hallway.

'He knew I'd find him.' She thought incredulously, ' so he positioned himself to run right when it happened!'

The girl followed him down the hallway, only a few paces behind him. She reached out at his back, almost touching him before he turned down the stairs.

"Jaune, wait!" She cried, as he unknowingly rushed to his doom, laughing. One false step on the rich carpet sent him tumbling down the staircase, rolling with a dull thump to the feet of the stairs.

Velvet rushed down, tightly gripping the marble bannister on the way down lest her own feet fail her. Jaune had rolled himself back up to a seating position, clutching his knee. Velvet looked him over.

He was sturdy if nothing else. Aside from a few scrapes and bruises, he hadn't taken much damage from the impact.

"You're bleeding." She muttered anxiously, pulling out a handkerchief to clean him up a little.

"I'm fine." he said, wiping away a tear from his right eye. "This is nothing." It seemed to take intense effort to not let any more tears fall as she helped him back to his feet. " Arcs fight the foulest monsters to roam the earth." He said, gritting his teeth. " I can handle a flight of stairs."  
'Stupid family pride.' Velvet thought. " Just try and be more careful." she said imploringly. " If you ever really hurt yourself, I'd-" Velvet stopped herself. She'd never hear the end of it, but that hardly seemed to be her motive. Keeping this boy safe meant more to her than any job.

"I know." He replied. " I just- I wanted to win." Velvet looked over him passively, with a grade A poker face.

"Velvet?" He asked.

She grinned at him cheekily. Then she gently poked him in the side. " Tag."

" Oh... oh… you devious little-" he muttered, before following her up the stairs.

At first Velvet forced herself to go slowly, but after a near miss she realized her opponents mobility hadn't been hampered in the slightest, so she scampered back up the stairs as fast as she could.

Jaune was right on her tail the entire time. As she led him back to the library, he was laughing. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew he knew she was leading him to class, but he hardly seemed to care. He had had his fun. He caught her just as she opened the door.

" Good game, Velv." He said jovially, before sighing and overly dramatically preparing himself for the ordeal to come. "Hi Mr. Sylveon, sorry I'm late, I-" whatever excuse Jaune had concocted died on his lips.

The man behind the open door was not Mr. Sylveon. Instead, a man with a goatee and violent red eyes stood in front of the makeshift classroom, posture ramrod straight. The other children were seated at their desks, not moving a muscle.

" Ah." he said, staring down the newcomers with a disinterested menace. " It seems our little princeling has finally arrived."

* * *

The World of Remnant: Chronology

* * *

 _Whenever you mess around with history and whenever you jump years between chapters, gauging the passage of time can be difficult. Here's a brief guide to prevent any confusion moving forward._

 _This story takes place in a universe where the Great War never happened, and none of the economic, political and social changes it spurred happened either. The Canon Great War began 90 years before the beginning of the series and lasted for a decade. Another Life's timeline narrowly averted that war with an agreement called the Great Peace, and all dates are given as before or after said peace (BGP and AGP, respectively)._

 _The canon RWBY first year at Beacon corresponds to 90 AGP._

 _There are a lot of children to keep track of and I've gotten questions about the relative ages of the characters. This story will move through time somewhat quickly, but the year will always be given as a reference. From eldest to youngest, the Arc Children are_

 _Sabrina b. 64 AGP_

 _Fleur b. 67 AGP_

 _Charlotte b. 69 AGP_

 _Rebecca b. 70 AGP_

 _Carolyn b. 71 AGP_

 _Jaune b.73 AGP_

 _Sapphire b. 74 AGP_

 _Noelle b. 77 AGP (At the very end of the year)_

 _Velvet was born in 72 AGP. The characters are never given canon birth dates, but Velvet is roughly 1 year older than Jaune and thus one year ahead of him at Beacon in the main series timeline. Remnant's years are the same length as ours and apparently use the same system of months ( Although the only specific date we are given in the whole series timeline is Ruby's birthdate, October 31st). Since having precise birthdates can be useful, Velvet was born on September 30th while Jaune was born August 2nd._

 _TL;DR Jaune is roughly a year younger than Velvet. The gap between the eldest Arc child (Sabrina) and the youngest (Noelle) is 14 years._

* * *

 _P.S. I've had a lot of material for this story for a while now. Unfortunately, while I have a very strong sense of where this story is going to go, the material I have written is chronologically out of order and thus I need to fill in the appropriate gaps before it can be posted. I will try to do this with more frequency going forward, but rest assured that I am sitting on 18,000 more words of this and they will become available as soon as I put the appropriate words between them, come hell or high water._

 _'The Reaper' will also be updated at least once before the ending of October. I swear this on whatever honor I as an occasional author of fanfiction may happen to possess. Long story short I wanted to wait and see how much of Volume 5 I could incorporate into my lore. I was frustrated to find that the answer was virtually none, and turned off somewhat by the way things were handled in that canon story arc. That isn't fair to the people who enjoyed it, but I figure I at least owed an explanation for the prolonged hiatus._

 _P.S.S. Happy Birthday to Velvet._


	3. All's Fair:The Street & The Schoolmaster

_79 AGP_

"Where's Mr. Sylveon?" Jaune asked.

The man shook his head. " That isn't any way to introduce, yourself is it? It would be foolish to start our relationship of on the wrong foot."

"What relationship?" Jaune replied. " Are you a substitute? Is he alright?"

"Mr. Sylveon was not making sufficient progress, and so will have to ply his trade elsewhere."

'He never even said goodbye.' Velvet thought. Outside of a loyal core, servants came and went frequently, falling out of the Arc's orbit. It was hard to predict when a face would disappear, never to grace Radian Hall again, but few had tolerated her as much as Sylveon had. She could read because of him, count because of him, all because one extra face made no difference to him. Would this new tutor even allow her in the room? She looked anxiously at the man, shocks of grey hair contrasting with a youthful, arrogant energy.

"I am his replacement." The man said, looking down at them. " My name is Victor Merlot, 3rd son of the 28th scion of the 6th Princely House, Merlot."

"Jaune Arc." The boy said nervously. The man arched a white eyebrow. "... 20th scion of the 13th Princely House, Arc."

"Only the 20th?" Merlot said haughtily. " I could have sworn there had been more of you."

Velvet's eyes narrowed slightly, getting a read on the new teacher. Most everyone regarded the Arcs with reverence in when their presence, but this man didn't care about rank, and even as an employee he held himself above his masters. House Arc was younger than House Merlot; that meant nothing and legally both were of equal status- hell, by strict protocol Jaune outranked Merlot as the heir apparent. But the way Merlot said it made the numbers seem like they were the most important difference and the world, and his manner suggested he was nothing less than the King of Vale. 'No,' Velvet thought, examining him more closely. The way his eyes dismissively roamed over the Arc children was more like a boy with a magnifying glass studying a pile of ants.

"Before we all begin, I would like to explain to you why we're here." Merlot said humorlessly. "Now, can any of you tell me?"

Carolyn raised her hand hesitantly and the schoolmaster nodded to her "...To learn?"

He shook his head. " No. That is the official reason, not the real reason. Although, if you want to learn, a lesson in how your lives really work is in order."  
He coughed, cleared his throat and paused, the entire room hanging on his silence.

"We are here," he said dully " because your father needed my elder brother for a favor, and dearest Donovan was tired of subsidizing my life and my research. A tit for tat. Some of us are not lucky enough to inherit their families fortune and must make do with their good name alone, and since I lack the general enthusiasm for hitting things until they die my options have been rather limited.

"You all will be in my charge until you, the girls, become eligible to be married off to a convenient suitor after you turn 15," he looked at Sabrina pointedly, and the girl sighed in relief, knowing their acquaintance would be welcomely short, "or when you, dear prince, are sent to the barracks at 14. Until such time it will be my duty to wring such intellect out of you that there is to be wrung."

He pulled out a stack of papers and began laying them on each of the Arc children's desk. "Based on Mr. Sylveon's papers I've gone through the agonizing process of putting together 7 different curricula tailored to each of your respective deficiencies."

Velvet was not given a pamphlet of her own, so she looked over Jaune's shoulder. The workload was double what it had been under Sylveon, with a dozen assigned texts, grammar worksheets, math questions, history essays, poetry and astronomical charts.

"Two hours of times tables a day?!" Carolyn shouted indignantly " Are you insane?!"

"What is 7 times 6?" Merlot asked dryly.

"..."

" I thought so. You'll do three hours of times table review from 1 to 20 per day until you can answer that question on reflex." He leveled a glare that brokered no argument and the girl hung her head, groaning.

"We will meet twice a week for two hours of general lecture, and thrice per week for four hours of supervised study. During that time I will be available" he drawled " for any questions."

Fleur looked down at her schedule and hesitantly raised her hand. Merlot sighed, and stared her down until she spoke.

" What if… what if we're not able to finish our work in the 12 hours with you?"

The schoolmaster allowed himself a slight grin. " Then I suppose you'd have to make up the difference in your free time."

Merlot suddenly whipped around the room and slammed his fist down on Jaune's desk. "If you fall behind," he said, animated by a malevolent fire that shone in his eyes " or come late, or mouth off, or make my life any more miserable than it has to be, I will return the favor 100 fold. I have the power to revoke any and every privilege you have and I will use it. Have I made myself clear?"

The storm of emotions on Jaune's face worried her. The righteous anger of a noble whose pride was wounded clashed with the trembling fear of a boy facing down a larger, more powerful and more competent man. In the end, the fear won. "Yes, sir." He said evenly.

"Splendid." Merlot replied. "Now, for our first lesson, how about a group discussion on the illustrious history of the Princely House of Arc?"

Despite the sarcasm the children perked up. Vanity was a powerful motivator, after all, and the lesson was essentially about themselves?

"Where are we starting?" Sabrina asked.

"Well, that's up to you." Merlot replied. " I want to see how capable you all are of independent thought. Tell me- of all the scions of House Arc, who was the greatest?"

Jaune had opened his mouth but Merlot cut him off before he could get out the first syllable.

"Think very carefully about how you answer. I'm not asking you who others think is the greatest of your line. I want to know who you think is the best, and I expect you to give me reasons." The boy stared straightforward, silent. " No answer?" Merlot said. " I'm mildly disappointed that as a scion of Arc, you didn't say yourself. I would have gotten to smack you if you had."

Having sufficiently tortured his new whipping boy, Merlot refocused to the rest of the class. "Anyone else want to give it a go?"

"Oh, I do! I do!" Sapphire called, bouncing up and down in her seat.

"Charming." Merlot said. " Who, pray tell, is it?"

"Father!" Sapphire said matter of factly.

"...At risk of my future employment, why?"

"Because he's my dad!" She said glibly. " He made me!"

Merlot looked distinctly unimpressed while the 5 year old preened. He then glanced back at Jaune, who was still sulking from his own beat down.

"I apologize, my dear boy. I seem to have misdiagnosed which one of you had the inflated ego." Merlot grinned as the youngest girl's face fell. " I do look forward to seeing how long it takes for Arc's gift to Remnant to learn how to properly spell something other than her own name."

The remaining children were reluctant to come forward, for obvious reasons. Merlot bit back a laugh. " No need to be so gloomy. After all, if you prefer not to think I can just shove answers down your throat for the next decade or so, save all of us a bit of time."

" Arc I." Fleur said calmly.

" Finally!" Merlot explained. He waved her forward. " Go on?"

" He rose from the kingdom's gutter and defeated the Beast King's army of nomadic Faunus when no other man could, bringing in an entirely new group of subjects and pacifying Vale's most vulnerable frontiers. Without him there wouldn't be a House Arc."

"...Still a bit conceited, but better." Merlot replied. " Although if mere feat of arms is the criteria, there are greater warriors compared to the man who routed a mongrel arm."

Velvet bit the inside of her cheek, painfully adept at staying silent. What made this malice particularly hard to bear was that it wasn't even directed at her; Merlot had made no acknowledgement of her presence since she had entered the room.

"What about Silver?" Rebecca said, pouncing on what seemed to be the obvious answer. Velvet winced. " He was the general who more than anyone else established Vale as a world power during her first encounters with Mantle and Mistral."

"Ah, the Valean warlord with the highest body count." Merlot replied whimsically. " The massacre of 50,000 civilian settlers from Mantle certainly sent a message that Eastern Sanus was off limits. Truly a man after my own heart. Excellent choice, my dear." Rebecca had paled, and the girl looked like she was going to be sick. " What's the matter, child? That detail didn't make it into the family bedtime stories?" He smirked. " Well, I suppose it isn't Silver either. Any other tries?"

"Valerius." Sabrina said. " The man who averted a Great War and negotiated the Treaty of Sardis

" Ah, yes, that great bringer of stability." Merlot said. " Or stagnation. Can you honestly tell me, girl, that you're satisfied with the way things are now, or that it was greatness that brought it about?"

Sabrina looked down bitterly at her desk. "No." She whispered.

"Wasted potential." He said knowingly. He had seen the children's marks, after all. "Always nice to find another kindred soul." He looked over all the Arcs one by one. " Does no one have an answer they're willing to stand behind?" He looked over at Carolyn. " How about you, times tables?"

"Ask Velvet." Carolyn said dully. " She knows stuff."

" That's funny." Merlot said, without a trace of amusement. " I don't see a 'Velvet' one the attendance sheet."

"Over there." Carolyn muttered, pointing to the chair in the back of the room.

"Oh." Merlot said. " The mongrel. I was wondering what it was doing here." He said the slur without energy or malice, as if it were merely a matter of fact, like calling a kettle black. Velvet sighed.

"Well, come on then." He said. " If my predecessor let you sit in the back you must have absorbed something. Which Arc was the greatest?"  
"Claudius." she whispered. " 5th Scion of Arc."

"Claudius." Merlot repeated. " The crippled weakling who could never hold a weapon all his life."

"Claudius the scholar." Velvet said. " The man whose treatises on architecture and engineering defined Vale for nearly a century. Whose works are still among the most important and only texts and we have for understanding the early history and culture of Vale, and the family fiefs that came before. He managed to avoid being executed for publishing details that went against the approved family histories of the time in favor of accuracy. Then he helped create the Council of Elders, guiding the growing resentment of the smaller but more numerous noble houses cut out from the Princely level to shift the power balance in the Kingdom. Before the new structure had calcified he introduced wide reforms granting a few basic legal rights for subjects of Vale, including a court system marginally independent of the local landlords, the right to trial, and the right to keep some fraction of the fruits of one's labor. The improvements he made to the infrastructure within Arc territory turned it from an ignored backwater into one of the great breadbaskets of the world, making House Arc an economic force as well as a military one,and he turned his district of the capital into the cleanest and healthiest of them all. Increased economic productivity tripled the Arc coffers which had previously been filled by war, and the copying of his various roads, bridges and sewage system doubled the productivity of Vale and added 5 years to the average lifespan of the subjects."

If it were possible, Merlot looked impressed." That's quite a bit more than I expected. What you're saying is, even though he had no feats that nobles define themselves by, the improvements he made in the life of the average Valean and the contributions to the knowledge of the Kingdom as a whole are actually more important."

Velvet nodded.

" And you're willing to stand by that answer? Even though no one else agrees with you, it stands against common wisdom, and Claudius has been agreed upon by all to be in fact the least noble of all Arcs?"

"...Yes." Velvet said, unwilling to back down no matter how much her judgement was mocked.

"Well, it appears we have a winner." He said mockingly. "Woe onto House Arc if a cripple is the greatest you have to offer and an animal is your intellectual better."

"But, but… she picked Claudius!" Rebecca said indignantly.

"Why shouldn't she pick Claudius?" Merlot said.

"Because he's Claudius!" Rebecca said. " You just don't do that."

Merlot rolled his eyes before glancing back at Velvet. " Kit, I encounter intelligence so rarely I must confess that I have no idea what to do with it. Idiocy, on the other hand-" he said, glancing back at Rebecca. "-I am more than capable of dealing with." He took his ruler and rapped the Arc girl on the arm.

She shrieked in pain."How dare you!"

"How dare you try to pass off an assertion as an argument." He said coldly. " And how dare you question my authority. I'm too politically inconvenient to fire at the moment, and I can subject you to far worse than this. Now if you can shut your mouth, maybe you can manage to listen."

The next hour and a half was spent going over the failings and misdeeds of the previous generation of Arcs, always drawing a parallel back to the current brood. Vanity for Sapphire, rashness for Rebecca, resignation for Sabrina, and for Jaune… "Well, I suppose your feeble enough to be Claudius, and if you keep that pet rabbit of yours on a leash you might even have the brains for it."

Jaune grimaced but said nothing. Velvet felt queasy, Merlot was praising her, but in such a way that brought scorn rather than admiration. After tearing down each of the noble children, raising up a servant made for a final punch to the gut. She wasn't blind- she already saw their disinterest towards her morphing into dislike. And Merlot's lips had a slight upward curl the entire time.

"Well, I suppose you lot are dismissed for the day." He said, looking at the clock. " If you could avoid pestering me with unnecessary questions during tomorrow's study hall, that would be splendid."

Velvet sighed, before walking up to the teachers desk. " Mr. Merlot-" She asked softly. " will it be alright if I keep sitting in on lessons?"

"Of course." He said, louder than necessary as the Arc sisters began making their way out of the room. " Far be it from me to deprive myself of my only student with a head." Velvet winced.

" Mr. Sylveon brought me spare workbooks and a lesson plan-"

" I am not Mr. Sylveon." He said simply. " I am being paid to create 7 curriculum. When baby Noel begins to walk and talk, that number will expand to 8. No more, no less." He chuckled as the faunus girl's face fell. " Though, if you need a lesson plan to work off of, I'm sure your fellow students would be happy to share."

' He knew' Velvet thought as she made her way to the exit, holding back tears for yet another time that day. 'He knew that no one would ever do anything to help me after he pulled that stunt-"

"Velv!" Jaune called out as she opened the door. He had waited outside for her.

"Yes." She said, not daring to hope. He seemed agitated… but not with her.

"How did you get so good with- I mean- I just wanted to get your advice on-" he sputtered " I just don't know how to- um- books?"

"What?" Velvet said, processing that. Then she flushed. "Thanks, but, I um- I just- I-I-I," Velvet tried desperately to stop stammering and to remove the color from her cheeks. " I spend a lot of time practicing. Reading and calculating, and ...stuff."

Jaune groaned. " I was afraid you'd say something like that." he looked back at the entrance the library, as Merlot exited, his bag in his hands and a smirk on his face.

Jaune steeled himself. " I never want that jerk to be able to do what he did today again. I want to look people in the eye and be proud of who I am, instead of cowering in shame." Jaune was stubborn if nothing else,and if Merlot was trying to crush his spirit today, he had just failed miserably.

Velvet smiled. " I guess we'll be seeing each other in the library a bit more often, then?"

"About that…" he began. "Could you maybe… help me a little?"

Velvet stared longingly at the paper half crumpled in his hand. " Could I work off your lesson plan?"

Jaune chuckled awkwardly. " If that's your idea of a reward, sure."

* * *

The thing that stood out to Velvet the most about the streets of Vale was how dirty and crowded they were.

Radian Hall maintained a full time staff to ensure that it was… well, radiant, at all times. The rooms and hallways were spacious and the interior and exterior was adorned in gold and white. Since the estate was built to house and entertain far more people than lived there full time, on slow days it was easy enough to find a vacant and quiet room, if one wanted to avoid people for a while and knew the cleaning staff's schedule. Add the sizable gardens and hedges in its interior and it lent itself well to sometimes involuntary games of hide and seek.

On the other side of the estate's walls there was nowhere to hide. The buildings were not quite so grand and they were packed so tightly together it was sometimes difficult to tell where one ended and the next began. Their edifices were a mixture of brown and gray, with the occasional dull red of faded brick or black splotches of soot. There were people within a few feet of you no matter where you were at all times, people brushed by each other in the traffic, bumping into one another as they rushed about their business. Velvet clutched the small bag of lien tightly in her hands, afraid that she would lose it.

Velvet disliked going into the city, and was perfectly content to hide behind the Arc walls, but not just because of the aesthetic. While some of the newer staff especially disliked her, most learned over time to leave her be, as part of the landscape, to be regarded with apathy or slight contempt. In the streets she was a curiosity, and she felt the weight of many gazes as she scurried by, hoping to find her destination.

Of course she stood out; she always had to stand out. Her clothes, while simple, were too clean and well cared for, and the twin crests on the shoulder stood out from the dull shades of the streets. This was the Arc district of the city, after all. Everyone knew what that symbol meant.

The two rabbit ears sticking out several inches above her head were far from discrete as well, and the combination drew many strange looks.

One bleary eyed man, sitting on an overturned barrel in what seemed to be a pub, caught the young faunus girl as she moved past his perch. His eyes narrowed and focused when he saw her ears and they were thin slits by the time he caught the Arc family crest. Velvet heard him mutter something almost inaudible in a drunken, guttural growl and she felt her blood chill. She anxiously slipped into the safety of a nearby crowd, heart racing with the knowledge that the man might have killed her if he thought he could get away with it.

The grocery store her mother frequented was almost a dozen blocks away from Radian Hall, and it took over an hour of squeezing her way through the crowd before she reached what she thought was the right street.

'Take a right on Ceres Street after four blocks on Crescent Road.' Velvet recalled, scanning the street for a sign. Nestled in a corner, ignored and forgotten was a chipped wooden plaque with Ceres Street etched in faded letters on its surface.

Most of the people around her had no use for the sign; the locals of Vale proper seemed to be able to instinctively navigate their city streets. What was particularly peculiar to Velvet was that none of the shops had written signs or addresses displayed in front. Instead, portraits of the various goods were displayed. Velvet cautiously opened the door to what seemed to be a promising candidate, the store with a full cornucopia illustrated on its front.

She heard someone muttering to themselves in the back as the bell attached to the door rang. " I'll be out in a second!" A gruff voice called, setting down what seemed to be a heavy crate.

The store was laid out in an intuitive enough fashion; the least desirable items were near the door, coarse breads, firewood, matches and rags. Right by the clerks desk were a few baskets of fresh fruit and some spirits.

An older man, tall and with flecks of grey in his beard, emerged listlessly behind the counter. " How may I help-"

The man stopped, startled, and looked her over repeatedly. "... God damn it."

Velvet quickly moved for the door. " I'm sorry, I must have got the address wrong, I'll just-"

"No!" He said quickly. "Just.. stay where you are." He shook his head. " You're Sateen's daughter, aren't you?"  
Velvet nodded.

" And she's sent you here on her weekly grocery run because she's busy and because when she was your age she was perfectly capable of doing it herself."  
Velvet gulped, and nodded again.

"That stubborn fool." He groaned. " Sending a kid on the streets alone. What world does she live in?" The storekeeper picked up a basket and began filling it up. " We'll, you're here now. It'll be the usual, I suppose."  
Velvet nodded.  
" You don't talk much, do you?"

Velvet colored slightly, before shyly nodding again.

Dagg grinned. " That's fine. I talk alot, figure it ought to balance out nicely for once."

As the clerk cobbled together loaves of bread, carrots, radishes, and other roots, Velvet found her voice. "... You… know my mother?"

"Of course I do." He said wearily. " She's been shopping here since she could walk." He tutted. " Some places aren't keen on having Faunus as customers, but I'm not picky. Lien is lien, after all. Name's Dagg, by the way."

" ...Velvet." the child replied.

" Well, Velvet, you should know that your mother is the most pigheaded, single minded person I've ever met in all my years. She has a very particular view of how the world should be, and she ignores any and everything that suggests otherwise." He chuckled lightly. " Didn't let much stand in her way, either, and she's made out better than the rest of us would have given her credit. But those blinders of hers can be a double edged sword."

"What do you mean?" Velvet asked. She had never met someone who knew her mother as anything more than a servant of House Arc.

" I mean that she's focused on clawing her way into that castle and kissing the ground her master walks on, and she ignores how things are on the ground for the rest of us. Take you for instance. I've never seen you around, and I've never heard any scuttlebutt about you, so judging by the way the grapevine works you must not get out much."

Dagg set the basket down on and lowered his hand from the tips of Velvets ears down to her head. " You're this big, and she thinks it's still safe to send you so far from home, alone, with money, no less?"

Velvet paled, paranoia from her walk to the store resurfacing. " Wh-why w-wouldn't i-it be safe? Doesn't Lord Arc have deputies who-"

"Don't get started on that love, you'll end up just like your mother." Dagg sighed. " Sending kids into unfamiliar turf has always been a bit dodgy. It's not something a responsible family does." He shrugged. " Of course, some people didn't grow up in the most responsible of environments, but that isn't an excuse to pull the same stunts."

" Mother doesn't talk about her family." Velvet said quietly.

" I suspect she doesn't. It's a boring story really. A Faunus couple,they... well -bred like rabbits- if you'll excuse the phrase. Had nothing better to do, I guess. Didn't keep track of all their kids, so one day, a few months after I set up shop, a little bunny faunus, a few years younger than you, rushes into my shop and starts drooling over the carrots…" Dagg chuckled. " … I know a lot of Faunus hate the comparison to their animals, until you ask them about their favorite food. I met a vegetarian wolf Faunus, once- part of some weird religious cult. He was the most miserable creature you'll ever know."

Velvet smiled, imagining her mother drooling over anything. She realized that she had sat down at some point in the story and was leaning forward with her legs crossed, grocery duties forgotten.

" Anyhow, being a new businessman, I could hardly have people drooling over my wares, so I tell her she'll have to pay or work for those carrots. And she did. Came in everyday for 10 years, so she could get a bit of pocket money and a little extra on the table. She's a good worker, and a good customer… though not quite as good a listener as you, rabbit."

The storekeeper set the basket down in front of her. " I imagine Sateen sent you with exact change. 50 lien, right?"

Velvet nodded. " In exchange for 5 loaves of bread, 2 dozen carrots, a dozen radishes, …"

Dagg chuckled. "... potatoes with a few odds and ends thrown in. I know the order." His face tightened slightly, " Although I have to say it'll only be 10 radishes this week, and no potatoes. Supply's been interrupted. Bandits."

Velvet's eyes over the prices listed by the various crates, doing the math in her head. She didn't want to think Dagg was swindling her- he seemed quite nice- but, just in case. " It adds up."

Dagg shot her a crooked grin. " Smart girl. Maybe you aren't quite as helpless as you watch yourself."

Velvet picked up the basket and stood up, eyes on the door. " If mother thinks it's safe…"

" Even if it was safe for your mother, now isn't the friendliest time, and policing isn't all it's cracked up to be. I don't know much about running a kingdom, but I do know there have been a lot of bandit raids on the outskirts of Vale this year. When bandits raid, my prices go up, and when prices go up people get pissed and hungry. Nothing good comes of that."

He looked at Velvet helplessly. " Just, stay on the main streets, and hurry home. If you wait much longer, you'll be out after dark, and that's a whole other can of worms."

* * *

The sun was setting as Velvet raced home. She remembered the path perfectly, despite having only taken in once, and was in a race against time.

As she hurried by the faces of the subjects on the street, only one met her eye. A ragged boy, younger than her, stood at the entrance of an alley, with a forlorn look in his sunking eyes.

"Food." He called out weakly. " Can I please have some food."

Velvet stopped, locking eyes with the boy. There was no hatred in his face, only desperation. Velvet bit her lip nervously. Until today, she had always thought herself to be the lowest rung on the social ladder, the creature beneath contempt of the highest lords and scorned by the lowest laborer. But she had always gotten enough to eat, and had a roof over her head. Could she pity her own misfortune and ignore the wretch she could help like everyone ignored her.

She approached him slowly, reaching her hand into her basket, deciding how much she could afford to give away. " Here." She said, handing the boy a loaf of bread. " It isn't much, but it's all I have to spare."

His eyes lit up and a crooked grin overtook his face. " Thank you for your kindness." he said, an edge in his voice.

Two forms pounced from behind the rubbish bins in the alley. One wrapped an arm around her neck, hand muffling her cries, and the other slammed her arm into the wall, pinning her and forcing her to drop her groceries.

" Good job finding us a patsy, Mark." One said, as his claws tore throw the fabric around her arm. His claws…

"That's right." The boy said, following her eyes with a foul smirk. He had long, sleek features and a feral look to him, with greyish brown hair and maroon eyes. " I'm part mongoose, in case you're wondered. We like to kill snakes, although…" he drawled " now and then we settle for rodents."

Her eyes darted over to the littlest boy, Mark, with a pleading look. He shrugged, and picked up her basket, thumbing through its contents.

"Looks like we'll get a few good meals out of this score." He said. " Rikki, how much do you want?"

" Not too much. Just a bite or two." he replied. The largest boy in the group laughed.

" Right, because a fat mongoose is a slow mongoose." the rest of the gang grinned; apparently this was an inside joke among them.

"Damn straight." He said cockily.

Velvet analyzed her surroundings. There were 5 of them in the alley. Mark, the smallest, couldn't have been more than 5 years old. Rikki, the faunus, looked to be a vicious 8 or 9. The oldest boy in the group appeared to be about twelve, though one or two stray hairs were visible on his chin.

"Why?" She murmured, muffled by the hand gagging her. Rikki understood her, and the boy holding her mouth removed his hand for a moment.

"Because you were dumb enough to fall for the old 'kid on the corner' trick. We would have just picked your pockets if you were bigger, but you're pint sized enough for us to handle. Lucky day, right?"

" Don't try and scream." The biggest boy said. "You'll only make it worse for yourself."

Velvet nodded, looking at the bustle of the nearby street. She didn't know if the people there could hear her; she didn't know if they'd care, either.

The gang didn't seem to have any trouble with faunus, since one of them was a leading member. They didn't seem to much care about her, laughing and passing around her basket. Being harassed by people who had the decency to hate you while doing it was better than this.

"You can't take it all." She said weakly. " My mother and I won't have anything to eat."

"What's the matter sweetheart?" One of them said. " Never gone a few days without food?" Velvet stared at him in stunned silence. " Really?!" He said, chuckling. " Welcome to the real world, then."

Velvet sputtered, beginning to raise her voice before a hand clapped over her mouth again. She couldn't stand for this, she had to do something, she had to fight back.

"Ow!" The human holding her cried as she bit down on his palm, hard. His grip loosened , and she swung her free hand at the mongoose faunus, slapping him in the face and breaking away. The slap had faced a lot more resistance than she anticipated and her wrist was made a beeline for the basket, before a hand wrapped around her ears and hoisted her off the ground.

"Another very dumb move." Rikki said, amused. Velvet squealed in pain, but her attempts to jerk herself free only made it worse. " You know, we were going to let you go scot free after running of with our dinner, but I think you've earned a nice lesson. What do you think, boys?"

"Me first." The boy she had bitten said, slamming his fist into her stomach. Dully, she noted that his hand was bleeding. Rikki's face, on the other hand, didn't have a mark on it.

'No damage, and heavy recoil, as if he were encased in some kind of… force field…'

"That's impossible." she whispered, looking at the faunus. " You can't have..." Though her words were surrounded by whimpers of pain and incredibly faint, he could hear her. Worse, he understood. His face darkened.

"Change of plans." Rikki snarled, moving his free hand to her neck. " You aren't walking away from this."

"Slow down, Rikki." The largest boy said, grabbing the mongoose faunus's hand as his claws were millimeters from Velvet's jugular, and the entire gang was suddenly conscious of the fact that their friend was about to commit murder.

"She knows, Ted." Rikki barked. " She can't leave this alley!"

Ted tightened his grip. " What do you think will happen if a servant bearing Arc's mark gets killed in his district? They'll have you hung."

"Only if they catch me." Rikki replied darkly. "No one will have seen anything, right." A few gulps were audible as the other boys nodded.

Ted looked unconvinced. "If they don't know who did it they'll crack down on everyone. Double the patrols, curfew after dark, random searches for evidence. Nonstop for weeks, maybe months. That'll make doing business harder for the big boys."

"Not my problem."

" Don't be stupid." Ted said. " Do you really want Mason Arc and Roman Torchwick both hunting you at the same time? If the crime lords catch you you'll wish you had gotten hung."

Rikki growled, then flung Velvet to the ground. She ignored the pain and dirt covering her body and scrambled to her feet, eyes darting around the alley for an escape route.

" Fine." he said, bristling with rage. "We'll let her go." He glared one last time at his fellow Faunus as she scurried away " Be sure to lick your master's boots extra clean tonight after you go crawling back to him."

* * *

The district's sheriff and deputies seemed uninterested when she rushed up to them and frantically explained her situation. One man listlessly went to the alley she described, and found nothing.

" And you're sure he had aura?" The sheriff said, sufficiently literate to take her statement.

Velvet nodded. " I...I've never seen it before, but that's the only way I know how to explain it. He almost killed me when he realized I knew."  
" And I'll kill him when I catch him." The sheriff replied.

"But… isn't he just a child?" Velvet asked. The sheriff shook his head. " It's bad enough that a street mongrel has an aura; the sacred power of the soul that only the Kingdom's noblest defenders ought to wield. If he's using it to commit crimes, then he's signed his own death warrant." he looked at Velvet disdainfully. " Is that all."

"Yes." Velvet said, very eager to get out of his presence and go home.

The two deputies that escorted her back to Radian Hall muttered amongst themselves.

"Any idea why petty crime has been going up these past few months?" One of them asked.

"Too many people?" The other said hesitantly. " I'm not paid to figure that shit out."  
Velvet's mother was deathly calm as the men explained what had happened to her. She remained calm as they left.

"You little fool." Her mother had said under her breath, that being the only acknowledgement Velvet's torment merited. She went into town the next morning, and brought back a loaf of bread, cut into 14 slices. "Lucky for you I had some spare change. This is all we have for a week.

Velvet took her apportioned slice for the day and spent half an hour chewing it, turning it into a wet and mushy paste before finally letting herself swallow it. She completed this ritual ever morning for the next few days.

She was more listless than usual following the Arc children around. She forced herself through daily lessons, ignoring Merlot's smug grin as she she could sneak off into an empty library, or even a quiet corner, she did so.

"You look terrible." Sapphire said candidly on the third day, deigning to notice her servant.

"...Hungry." Velvet murmured. The younger girl had just gotten back from a formal brunch. She shrugged, and went back to whatever fantasy had taken her fancy.

After the endless slog of the fourth day, she was waiting by her mother's side for her to finish her work before they could go home for the night.

'Why did it have to be in the kitchen?' Velvet thought forlornly, forbidden aromas wafting into her nose, magnifying the hunger pangs that had been troubling her for days.

She didn't know how her mother stood it, handling all that food without touching a crumb of it. Her face had a few extra lines of concentration as she fulfilled her usual tasks, but otherwise she was fine. No one had commented on her sneaking any snacks, and Sateen Scarlatina seemed too proud a woman to resort to that sort of thing; though Velvet imagined it took all of her self control to stop herself.

Then again, based on what Dagg and the boys had told her about life on the outside, maybe her mother just had more practice at functioning without food,

Clarice Ramsey entered her kitchen with even more anxious energy than usual. Her mind was always occupied with some menial task or another, cooking meals or cleaning, managing her little scrap of the mansion with the utmost efficiency. She was the kind of person so desperate for a helping hand that it didn't matter who the hand was attached to. The assistant cook was one of Velvet's favorites.

"Oh, Sateen, there you are." She said, relieved. "I need to speak with you right away."

"Not now Clarice." Mrs. Scarlatina said. " I'm busy." She went back to cutting the carrots for dinner, ignoring the rumbling of her daughter's stomach, and her own.

The cook gave Velvet a pitying glance before trying to get her mother's attention.

"Sateen-"

"I'm busy!" She replied sharply.

"That's fine." A booming voice called, ringing throughout the building. " I'll only need a few minutes of your time. I've just heard some distressing rumors as of late."

Velvet only half understood when people said Jaune looked like his father. Their features were similar; the feel was not.

Mason Arc looked like he was carved from stone. His face was firm and angular, his body muscled and dangerous, filling armor and dress clothes with an equal power. He moved with a slow, deliberate gait, no superfluous gestures, and while he could be jovial Velvet always thought of him with a stern, discerning intensity in his steel grey eyes. His familiar shade of golden blond hair was cropped shorter than the rest of his family. This was the face of one of the premier warriors nobles of Vale, someone who had spent their life being obeyed,with good reason.

Most of the staff found him to be quite dashing. Velvet was always too intimidated by his presence to concern herself with such matters.

"M..Master Arc!" Mrs. Scarlatina stammered, flushing slightly. " I assure you, nothing untoward has... I would never..."

Lord Arc seemed amused by how easily he could fluster Mrs. Scarlatina, a slight, satisfied smirk gracing his features before his mind went back to business. He waved his hand casually, silencing his servant.

"I'm not accusing you of anything, dear. It's just that several of my children have told me that Velvet has been hungry for the past few days." he said simply. " Some of them seem quite concerned about it as well." Velvet would have liked to have thought all of them would have cared, although she could very well guess which of them had brought it up.

"Well-"

"And," he continued "several of my deputies have informed me of a robbery that occurred while I was away, one involving a young rabbit faunus and her groceries."

"Yes." Mrs. Scarlatina. " That was Velvet, and the theft set us back, but we'll be able to scrape by until the end of the week, and then everything will be back to normal."

"On how much?."

"... A slice of bread a day."

" Unacceptable." he said sharply.

Sateen's eyes darted nervously around the room. " My lord, th-that's all we can afford - not that you don't pay us enough- you're very generous -but our weekly food budget was lost in the robbery and..."

"Enough."

Mrs. Scarlatina stopped, gulping slightly.

" Mrs. Ramsey." He said curtly.

" Yes, milord?" the cook replied.

" Tell Chef Basil that he is to set aside the leftovers from our meals for the remainder of the week for the Scarlatina family to take home." He paused, thoughtfully. " And tell him to designate a portion of the kitchen to rations for the staff on the job, so this kind of robbery isn't a problem in the future. Crime wave or not, none of my people are going hungry."

" Of course, sir."

Images of the feasts prepared for the family and their guests flashed through the young faunus's mind as her stomach rumbled. Velvet's mouth watered.

Her mother, on the other hand, seemed to be trapped between a rock and a hard place. She dare not question her masters orders, or his generosity, yet she couldn't let herself be seen as a burden.

" That's very kind of you, my lord, but we can get by, you don't have to-"

"I do." He said, brokering no argument, and saving Velvet the trouble of mustering her courage to challenge her mother's looking of a very generous gift horse in the mouth.

" One of my servants, wearing my mark, was attacked and robbed in my territory, and my men were both unable to stop it and unable to catch the thieves. It would be a black mark against my honor if I did nothing."

"..." Mrs. Scarlatina stood, mouth open, trying to satisfy both her own and her master's pride and failing miserably.

"Take it." Mason said, face softening almost imperceivable. " If not for your own sake, for your daughter's. She's a growing girl, it isn't healthy for her to live off of a bread slice a day."

" Of course, sir." Her mother replied, curtsying slightly. She turned to Velvet expectantly. " Don't you have something you would like to say to Lord Arc?"

Velvet turned to her master nervously. 'Just imagine you're talking to Jaune.' she thought, gulping. " Th-th-th-thank you." she stuttered out.

Her mother looked at her, bemused. " Aren't you forgetting something?"

Lord Arc looked on, mildly amused, as the young faunus tried to figure out what her mother was getting at. She had thanked him for the food. What else could he possibly want to hear from a lowly servant and a child at that, who had never spoken more than two words in his presence.

There was something on her mind, though. The boys who robbed her … who mocked her for being afraid of going without food, and all the other people in the city...

"There are a lot of other people going hungry in your district tonight, sir." Velvet said evenly.  
Her mother let out a startled gasp. Mason Arc's famous poker face was shaken for a brief moment, eyes widening. He looked at the young girl before him as though he were seeing her for the first time. He frowned.

"That may be." He said. " But I only have so many scraps to throw around." With that, Lord Arc strode out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Mrs. Ramsey looked at Velvet with an expression of awe; her mother wore an expression of indignation. She did not speak to her when they went to the chef, nor when she dragged Velvet back by the ears to their cottage, and not when she shoved a handful of rolls and a lukewarm pot of stew into her arms. The pair ate in silence, ignoring one another as they had their first proper meal in days.

Finally, as Sateen rose from her seat and began heading to bed, Velvet summoned her courage.

"...Mother?" she squeaked out. The older faunus finally looked at her daughter, glaring at her furiously.

"You were supposed to say thank you, sir."

* * *

The World of Remnant: The Valean Class Structure

* * *

 _The Kingdom of Vale has its origins in the smaller fiefs that arose in the relative safety of the Great Valley of Eastern Sanus, for which the Kingdom bears its name. Warrior bands would secure a small, fertile area from the ravages of the Grimm and would claim dominion over the peasants that sought sanctuary in their borders. As they expanded, neighboring bands would begin jockeying for control of scarce resources and dominance over the others. The legacy of this fief structure and the struggles between them echo in the relative power of their descendents to this day._

 _The modern Kingdom of Vale was created by the union of two of the most powerful fiefs in the region, headed by House Verdun and House Azure in the year 418 BGP. No individual fief was strong enough to resist the clout of this alliance, and the more clairvoyant among the rival bands joined the growing Kingdom to secure their place in it's nobility. Nobles still retain a moderate level of control over their old territories and derive their wealth from rents taken from peasants._

 _Noble houses are typically headed by their Patriarch, or eldest male, and inheritance is governed by the rules of primogeniture, where the eldest son is given all property and titles. Daughters and younger sons retain the social status of their family and typically marry and serve within noble classes and professions, but are they not groomed to the same level and are expected to make their own way in the world; social pressure on young noble couples tends to create large families in the pursuit of a suitable heir._

 ** _The Princely Houses_**

 _The families that controlled the largest territories and the most powerful military forces posed the greatest challenge to unification of Vale, yet their loyalty was one of the Kingdom's greatest prizes. The Kingdom of Vale enticed many of these potential rivals by offering them special privileges and honors. Though many of these privileges evaporated as time went on and the independence of each family declined, there is still a great deal of prestige associated with the 13 Princely Families._

 _Houses that offered vital military or economic resources to the Kingdom were offered ascension into the cadre of 'Princely' families by unanimous consent by a council of all pre-existing families, in return for their fealty to Vale. The Princely houses typically control large or vital districts within the core of the Kingdom, and scions of these houses are expected to take prominent roles in the military and political structure of Vale. It is the ambition of many Noble families to one day join their ranks, but this is unlikely; no family has ascended since the end of Valean Unification in 322 BGP._

 _In order of date of ascension, the Princely Houses are_

 _Verdun_

 _Azure_

 _Oran_

 _Perelle_

 _Dore_

 _Merlot_

 _Capulet_

 _Montague_

 _Spencer_

 _Salvia_

 _Leyen_

 _Reiss_

 _Arc_

 ** _Noble Houses_**

 _The class of general noblemen is populated by a much wider range of backgrounds than their Princely counterparts, and they make up the bulk of the governing class of the Kingdom._

 _A Nobleman of any background is eligible to hold virtually any position of importance within the government. Intermingling, friendships and marriages between all rungs of the noble hierarchy are frequent, and aside from the formal designation of 'Princely' no legal separation exists between the groups. Functionally such a separation would be impractical; the Princely Houses control a plurality but not a majority of the Kingdom's lands, and were they to exclusively marry within and monopolize power amongst themselves they would quickly become unacceptably inbred and leave an ambitious and power hungry group of warriors directly below them. Nevertheless it is understood by most observers that there are tiers of influence and prestige within the various Noble families in practice if not in principal._

 _If the 1st Echelon of Vale is composed of 13 Princely Houses then the 2nd Echelon is composed of approximately 6 dozen minor landowners ( including Houses Winchester, Bronzewing and Adel). These Houses control smaller territories in Vale proper or larger fiefs on its periphery. Their average wealth is smaller than that of any of the Princely Houses, but they are comfortably affluent as a rule. Considered together, the 1st and 2nd Echelons constitute the 'landed aristocracy' of Vale, and since local Lords have direct control over the day to day affairs of their district, it is this group that makes most decisions affecting Vale's subjects._

 _The 3rd Echelon consists primarily of the cadet branches of the preceding levels of the nobility. As younger sons of Nobles or the descendents of such sons, they possess their family's status but not their source of wealth. As such they typically make ends meet by entering into the civil service, and make up the backbone of the Kingdom's commissioned officers, administrators and diplomats. The rungs above them also occupy these positions, but do so out of duty rather than economic necessity, and the upper nobles are vastly outnumbered. There are a baker's dozen Princely Houses, and the entire upper two Echelons contain less than 100 families, each of which can only have 1 heir apparent. Houses in the 3rd Echelon number in the hundreds._

 _A fraction of these landless Nobles go into the private sector rather than the government. Tutors for noble children, doctors and lawyers are usually drawn from this group. Some build alliances with guilds or merchants and use their political connections to gain favorable operating conditions from local Lords, acting as intermediaries between the ruling elite and the common man._

 _Marriage with said intermediaries is the only way for a woman not born into the Nobility to enter it. The only path way for a man is into the 4th Echelon, via military service. Nobleman serving in the Valean military are knighted as a matter of course, but knighthood is also occasionally bestowed on common soldiers who display exemplary ability and leadership potential. Such knights are typically older and more experienced than their noble born counterparts and take high positions of authority in the military elite. They are the poorest of the noble groups, having nothing to pass down to their children but whatever meager savings they can amass and their hardwon title._

 _The '5th Echelon' is not really a level of Nobility at all. It is composed of various low level government functionaries who wield vicarious power of their masters and are to be obeyed by commoners as such. Lords will typically designate a small corps of sheriffs, deputies, tax collectors or mayors to administer their holdings on their behalf, and for the duration of their employment and at their Lord's pleasure they hold their titles. The central government does the same for its own low level administrators. Such positions are not hereditary._

 _In the century following the Great Peace, the population of the top 4 Echelons has hovered around 10,000. An additional 10,000 are employed in the 5th Echelon at any given time._

 _While stratification between the levels is real, so to is the level of mobility within the government. The ever shifting web of alliances and rivalries amongst the top families means that each will pounce upon an opportunity to deprive an incompetent rival of key positions. An ambitious and talented man born in any of the 4 real Echelons can expect to reach high positions within the Valean power structure. Conversely, heirs of the landed aristocracy are almost always given ceremonial positions of power, but it is tacitly understood by all that the less able among them are never to be given any real responsibility._

 _This internal flexibility between aristocracy and meritocracy is more pronounced in Vale than in any of its rival Kingdoms. Vacuo has virtually no central authority while Mantle and Mistral are much more rigidly stratified. The latter two are structured around a much more stable monarchy, and loyalty and favor are often a more valuable currency than competence. Vale's government is too decentralized and its leadership too varied for complete nepotism to be possible. This malleability has often been a relative advantage of Vale in it's contests with the other Kingdoms._

 ** _Commoners_**

 _As of 247 BGP slavery or any form of human ownership within the Kingdom of Vale was abolished, and its subjects were guaranteed a handful of rights throughout all its territory, including a right to a fair and public trial, a right to keep a portion of one's income, and a general protection for non political speech and expression. But the people of Vale are still far from citizens and their protections beyond the most basic vary by jurisdiction._

 _Wealth and education levels vary wildly as well. Certain districts are more prosperous than others, and more lenient than others, with the cost of rent and the personal freedoms granted to their subjects at the discretion of the local Patriarch. Movement between the districts is allowed but discouraged, with centuries of local loyalty and rivalries cultivated to attach subjects to the area they were born in as much as possible. Even subjects who despise their local Lord will usually hesitate to break off ties with their family and community, and have an attitude of 'better the Devil I know than the Devil I don't." As a result of this, while Nobles of all Vale are generally cosmopolitan in their attitude to their peers, Valean peasants are highly parochial and place incredible value on local idiosyncracies, mannerisms, styles of dress and speech._

 _The relative disunity of the population when compared to the cultural unity of the nobles is somewhat by design. The small ruling class, though initially drawn from the local population of their fiefs, has spent centuries intermarrying more or less exclusively with one another. Their children play together, have similar styles of education, and speak the standard dialectic of the Valean aristocracy nigh exclusively. Their sons typically serve alongside each other for most of their early adulthood, and nobles tend to move in the same economic, social and political circles. The average commoner lives, works and dies within the fief of their birth, and has scarce interaction with those outside of it. Standard Valean is widespread but local dialects remain strong in daily life and those living in two distant fiefs have difficulty understanding one another. Commoners also do very different kinds of work, and there is less mingling between social levels._

 _Merchants, artisans, skilled workers and members of the various guilds and professions are often quite successful, with the best among them being richer than many of the Nobles. However, these people hold no direct sway over the politics of Vale and are at the mercy of their local Lords and the Central Government._

 _The Civil Service also offers comparatively prosperous life for the few who can win such positions. The lowest levels of government administration are too menial for even the lower Nobility to be interested and are a bastion of the talented commoner. Some temporarily join the '5th Echelon' but many more act as that Echelon's immediate subordinates._

 _Private service is also quite popular, with the wealthiest families hiring dozens of cooks, nannies, gardeners, cleaners and butlers to maintain the day to day. Most of the lower Noble Echelons hire one or two servants as a matter of personal pride. Servants typically have the privilege of wearing the mark or livery of their master's family, and their status relative to one another corresponds to the status of their masters. Servants of a Princely or Noble House typically regard themselves as above those working in for a Cadet line or prosperous merchant, even if they receive identical pay._

 _Military service is common. Even in peacetime the Kingdom is under constant assault by bandits and the creatures of Grimm, and outlying protectorates need to be kept in check. While Officers and elite warriors are nigh exclusively elites, the enlisted men at arms are drawn from the commoners by the tens of thousands. Casualty rates are high and much time is spent far away from home, but pay is steady and service is the best way for those at the bottom rung of society to see the world and achieve some semblance of status._

 _The remaining avenues of work for commoners are those of sharecroppers, farm hands, miners and various forms of unskilled menial labor. This is how the vast majority of the Valean population supports itself, subsisting hand to mouth from cradle to grave. A handful become sufficiently specialized to break into the category of skilled labor, but the remainder struggle at the foundation of Vale's economic system, bitter or apathetic. Illiteracy is common and numeracy is limited, with oral tradition and local pubs functioning as the epicenters of culture._

 _Vale's peasant population is sufficiently poor that small privileges make a great deal of difference, and a mixture of envy and contempt characterizes relations between the various lower rungs of society. Gradiations of rank are more intensely felt among the commoners than the nobles because however slight they may be such differences have an outsized impact on quality of life. Humans are typically better off than the Faunus and both groups harbor a dislike for one another._

* * *

 _P.S. Well, another day, another update. I attached a new cover photo, this time from art by the illustrious Exvnir. On one hand it's really well drawn, conveys one of the central premises of the plot and should make the story more eye-catching. On the other hand, it makes a hell of a lot more sense when the characters are at their canon ages and not going through childhood flashbacks. I guess I'll have to work my way back up to that point in the timeline post haste._


End file.
